ST. JUDE THADDAEUS

Catholic Online
int_id=127
Oct 28 2008
CA

St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less,
and a relative of Our Saviour. St. Jude was one of the 12 Apostles
of Jesus.

Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria,
Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he
returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election
of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.

He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East,
particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of
the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. This Apostle is said to have
suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia. The
final conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity did not take
place until the third century of our era.

Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would not
manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection. Little
else is known of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and
Edessa; possibly martyred with St. Simon in Persia.

Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament
letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment
of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done
before them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases
and his feast day is October 28. Saint Jude is not the same person
as Judas Iscariot who betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his
great sin and lack of trust in God’s mercy.