St Jude Thaddeus is the Catholic patron saint of Armenia and lost causes.
The Feast of St. Jude Thaddeus
The Feast of St Jude Thaddeus is October 28. The next Feast is Saturday, October 28, 2023. 🇮🇹
St Jude Thaddeus
St Jude Thaddeus lived in the first century CE. He was one of the twelve apostles, the disciples of Jesus who spread his message as missionaries.
He was born in Galilee, Judaea under the Roman Empire. In some traditions, he is the brother of Jesus. In Leonardo Da Vinci’s legendary painting “The Last Supper,” St Jude Thaddeus is the second from the right.
According to tradition St Jude was at the Pentecost (the Jewish harvest festival Shavout, the Feast of Weeks), the fiftieth day after Easter when the apostles and other followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit. Some consider this moment to be the beginning of the Christian church.
He was martyred in Syria with his friend the apostle Simon the Zealot by an ax. That is why St Jude is often depicted with an ax. After his death, St Jude’s bones were entombed in the left transept of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Other traditions put his final resting place in Armenia.
In New York City
New York City has a hospital and a shrine dedicated to St Jude.
St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
220 East 42nd St, New York, NY 10017
(between Second & Third Ave)
Murray Hill, Manhattan
The Hospital is named for St Jude Thaddeus.
A Personal Story
by Keith Widyolar
Faith is believing in what you can’t see. Occasionally in life, things happen that are miraculous. It is hard to deny your own experience. I respect that this may or may not make any sense, but this is my story.
Once upon a time, I loved a woman like I never loved anyone in my life. We had broken up and my lost love broke me too. My love refused to speak to me or see me, and spoke badly of me to all who knew us, including professionally.
Talking with a friend about the impossibility of us getting back together, my friend suggested that I pray to St Jude Thaddeus, the Catholic saint of desperate situations or lost causes.
My friend explained that being confused with Judas Iscariot, fewer people pray to St Jude Thaddeus. Being less busy, St Jude is willing and able to help in situations that seem impossible.
I wasn’t raised in this tradition, but in August I began to pray anyway. Much to my surprise, in early October my love agreed to see me one last time to say goodbye to my stepson.
The day of our goodbyes was a cloudy and chilly day. While sitting in a restaurant on the lake in Central Park, suddenly the sun came out and our tango song came on the radio.
We were both surprised, but understood the meaning of the moment. She asked if I knew what she was thinking. I said I did. From there, we slowly renewed our love and eventually got back together.
I never expected that, but it happened. I understand that it sounds completely irrational, but that was my experience.
In gratitude, I used to pray to St Jude every day. This story is my testimony. I will never forget how St Jude helped me in a moment when all seemed lost.
The complement to the story is, “be careful what you wish for.” The problems that split us up showed up again. It turns out that some lost causes are just lost causes.
