Category: 1st Century Martyrs

St. Jude the Apostle

St. Jude the Apostle

St. Jude, AKA Judas Thaddaeus, is considered the patron saint of lost or desperate causes. St. Jude is believed to be the author of the Epistle of Jude in the New Testament. While preaching the gospel with St. Simon, St. Jude was beat with a club and suffered martyrdom (St. Simon also suffered martyrdom by being sawed into pieces). They share October 28th as their feast day. Tradition holds that in the middle ages St. Jude was often confused with Judas Iscariot, so devotion to him was scarce. The few who did invoke St. Jude’s help found his help (prayers to our Lord) to be impossibly effective. Hence, he’s known to be the patron of impossible causes.

A Bloody Beginning

A Bloody Beginning

Tradition holds that all of the apostles (the first Bishops of the Catholic Church), with the exception of Judas and St. John, the son of Zebedee, were martyred, including St. Paul. We are comforted in our faith and can withstand persecution because these Pillars of our Church lead the way and died for what they witnessed. They would not have given up their lives to spread the Good News if they did not literally witness the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.