St. Jude, not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, was one of Christ’s apostles and is considered a founder of the Armenian Christian Church. He is associated with the Epistle of Jude and is the patron saint of hopeless causes. St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital is a renowned hospital for childhood cancer treatment.
St. Judas is not as many think, Judas Iscariot. In fact, Christians have for many years tried to distinguish between the two, because like Judas, Saint Jude was one of Christ’s apostles. He may be referred to as Thaddeus or Judas, son of James, to make this distinction clearer.
The saint has great importance in the early proselytism of Christianity. He is considered one of the founders of the Armenian Christian Church and his travels after the death of Christ, according to legend, include trips to Samaria, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya. He is believed to have suffered greatly for his open evangelical practice. Also, according to legend, his father was executed to punish St. Judas for spreading Christianity.
Like many early Christians who were open to trying to spread the message of Christianity, St. Jude was martyred and probably died around AD 66, in Persia. He may also be the author of the Epistle of Jude, which is considered part of the Apocrypha. Modern biblical scholars strongly doubt that he authored this text, as it is written in fluent Greek and more closely resembles 2nd-century writing styles.
What many find interesting about St. Jude is that, in the 1800s, he became popularly known as the patron saint of hopeless causes. People could beg him to intervene only when their difficulties were most difficult. This practice originated in Italy, and soon became popular in the United States, first starting in Chicago.
If prayers were answered and the despair of a hopeless cause removed, people often felt compelled to publish a prayer to St. Jude in the local newspaper. Today, due to the expense of publishing in newspapers, many people post these prayers for free on the internet. According to the ritual, especially the Catholic rite, prayers to Saint Jude must be recited or published for nine consecutive days to adequately thank the saint for his intercession and to honor Christ.
The saint is also associated with the renowned St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, which has been extremely successful in the research and treatment of childhood cancer. The hospital is open to anyone, regardless of ability to pay or religious orientation, and is one of the best children’s hospitals in the United States. It is a hospital for those with a desperate and worthy cause to seek treatment for childhood cancers.
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