St. Jude Thaddeus
Born: 1st C.
Died: 1st C.
Canonized: pre-Congregation
Feast Day: October 28
Patron Saint of: desperate causes, desperate situations, lost causes
Saint Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and was the human author (inspired by the Holy Spirit) of the Epistle of St. Jude. He died a martyr in the second half of the first century. Jude Thaddeus is the patron saint of desperate causes because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the face of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them. Because many early Christians mistakenly confused Jude Thaddeus as Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, his veneration was avoided, thus resulting in being known as "the Forgotten Saint".
He is also known as Jude the Apostle, author of the Epistle of St. Jude, and the Forgotten Saint.
