Saint Jude Thaddeus: Patron Saint of Hope and Difficult Causes was one of Jesus’ twelve Apostles. He preached the Gospel with great passion, often in the most difficult of circumstances. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he made profound differences in people’s lives as he offered them the Word of God.
Saint Jude was martyred in 65 A.D. along with Saint Simon of Persia on October 28th (their Feast Day). His remains are in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy.
After his death, many turned to St. Jude for his intercession in prayer. Jesus inspired the devotion to St. Jude for St. Bridget of Sweden when he directed her in a vision to turn to St. Jude with great faith and confidence. In a vision, Christ told St. Bridget, “In accordance with his surname, Thaddeus, the amiable or loving, he will show himself most willing to give help.”
In the early 20th century, St. Jude Thaddeus was relatively unknown to the general Catholic population in the United States. Claretian Missionary, Father James Tort, CMF founded the National Shrine of St. Jude in 1929 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on the southeast side of Chicago. Father Tort was the Pastor of the parish and had been sent there by the Claretians to organize the construction of the church for a parish in need of hope and support.
The National Shrine of St. Jude and the St. Jude League bring together millions of devotees in a community of prayer and hope. The faithful around the world send the Claretians their special intentions and stories of hope. The St. Jude League provides a path for letters of petition and of gratitude to be delivered directly to the altar of St. Jude at the National Shrine. Each week we place the people’s intentions at the altar of St. Jude and pray for their petitions in our Masses.
They also flock to Solemn Novenas to St. Jude, which take place five times each year at the Shrine at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
We thank you for your continued devotion to St. Jude, the patron saint of difficult cases, and for joining with us in our unending prayer: St. Jude, Pray for Us!
For more information about St. Jude devotion, please visit shrineofstjude.org or call (312) 544-8230.