Who is Saint Jude Thaddeus?
The origins of devotion to St. Jude as the patron of difficult or hopeless cases are nearly as obscure as details of the life of the great Apostle. These origins seemed to have been a spontaneous rising of interest among the faithful themselves, prompted possibly by the fact that according to tradition, St. Jude was a near relative or cousin of Jesus and that as a child, he was a playmate of the Lord.
Confusion of the names of St. Jude and the traitor, Judas, effectively discouraged devotion to the saint for many centuries. Devotion to him, consequently, has been of relatively recent origin although there is evidence that this devotion was held in high esteem during the Middle Ages.
Impetus to this devotion was undoubtedly given by Our Lord Himself who directed St. Bridget of Sweden to turn to St. Jude with great faith and confidence. "In accordance with his surname, Thaddeus' the amiable, loving," said Our Lord, "he will show himself most willing to give help."
St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of our Savior. Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, ldumaea, 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 the author of an epistle 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 3rd century of our era.
We are told that St. Jude's father, Alphaeus, was murdered because of his forth-right and outspoken Devotion to the risen Christ. The mother of St. Jude and St. James the Less, also named Mary, was a cousin of the Virgin Mary. After her death, miracles were attributed to her intercession.
St. Jude is shown, traditionally, as carrying the image of Jesus in his hand. This represents, according to tradition the imprint of the Divine Countenance that was entrusted to him by Jesus.
The circumstances were these: King Abagaro of Edessa, who suffered from leprosy, sent word to Jesus asking Him to come and cure him. With his request, we are told, the King sent an artist to return with a picture of the Master. Impressed with his great faith. Our Lord pressed his image on a cloth and gave it to St. Jude to bring to the King of Edessa and cure him. The King was cured by St. Jude and together with most of his subjects was converted to Christianity.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, St. Jude travelled throughout Mesopotamia for a period of ten years preaching and converting many to Christianity. He probably returned to Jerusalem for the Council of the Apostles, and then he and St. Simon visited Libya and Persia where many more converts were made,
St. Jude died a martyr's death. Tradition tells us that he was clubbed, possibly into insensibility, and his head was then shattered with a broad ax. Sometime after his death, St. Jude's body was brought to Rome and placed in a crypt under the principal altar of St. Peter's Basilica.