St. Jude Thaddeus

Jude Thaddeus is one of the Twelve Apostles. St. Jude was the brother of James the Less and was a kinsman of Jesus. According to ancient sources he evangelized in Judea, Idumea, Samaria, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Libya. Latter legends say that he visited the ruler of Edessa with a miraculous image of Jesus and cured him of leprosy. He is frequently represented holding or wearing a large medal picturing the face of Jesus. Eusebius, an ancient Church historian, writes that Jude came back to Jerusalem in A.D. 62 for the election of a new bishop of Jerusalem. St. Jude wrote one epistle (letter) which is in the New Testament. The epistle of Jude emphasizes persevering in the faith under difficult circumstance and for this reason St. Jude is known as the patron of hopeless or desperate cases. He was martyred either in Armenia or Persia. St. Jude’s feast is October 28. The name Jude is sometimes rendered as Judas, but St. Jude is not the Judas Iscariot who betrayed Our Lord