Saint Jude Thaddeus
Also known as
- Jude of James
- Judas Thaddaeus
- Lebbaeus
- Jude, brother of Jesus
- Lebai Sleeha
- 28 October (Roman Church)
- 19 June (Eastern Church)
Profile
Son of Cleophas, who died a martyr, and Mary who stood at the foot of the Cross, and who annointed Christ’s body after death. Brother of Saint James the Lesser. Nephew of Mary and Joseph; blood relative of Jesus Christ, and reported to look a lot like him. May have been a fisherman. Apostle.
Wrote the canonical Epistle named for him. Preached in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia with Saint Simon. Tradition says that he and Saint Bartholomew were among the first to bring Christianity to Armenia. Jude was known to have the gift of healing, and to serve as an exorcist; he could exorcise pagan idols, which caused the demons to flee them and the statues to crumble.
His patronage of lost or impossible causes traditionally derives from confusion by many early Christians between Jude and the traitor Judas Iscariot; not understanding the difference between the names, they never prayed for Jude’s help, and devotion to him became something of a lost cause.
- beaten to death with a club, then beheaded post-mortem in 1st century Persia
- relics at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, at Rheims, France, and at Toulouse, France
Name Meaning
- sweetness or gentleness of character (Thaddeus)
- desperate situations
- forgotten causes
- hatters
- hospital workers
- hospitals
- impossible causes
- lost causes
- Worshipful Company of Shipwrights
- —
- Armenia
- Cartigliano, Italy
- Saint Petersburg, Florida, diocese of
- axe
- bearded man holding an oar
- boat
- boat hook
- book
- carpenter’s rule
- club
- halberd
- scroll
- square rule
- sword
- nearly every image depicts him wearing a medallion with a profile of Jesus, and usually with a small flame above his head
- often carries a pen or sits at a writing location to make reference to the canonical Epistle
Readings
MLA Citation
- “Saint Jude Thaddeus“. CatholicSaints.Info. 21 April 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <>