About Saint Jude

Devotion to St. Jude

"The Forgotten Saint" is a title that is often given to St. Jude Thaddeus, the loving patron of difficult, usually hopeless cases. One of the wonders of today is the increasing surge of interest in St. Jude. Even more marvelous are the powerful results of his ability to access the Power for his friends on earth. St. Jude listens patiently to trivial requests and he heeds heartrending cries of desperation. The favors he obtains are an avalanche of graces poured into the valley of troubled lives. Where there is despair, and hope is fading, he often amazes us by his speedy and effectual help. The recipients of his intercessions, the favors he obtains on our behalf, have discovered that he is especially effective in solving difficult problems.

Today, more than ever before, is the merit of Jude Thaddeus being revived in people's minds and hearts. He in return is proving himself more than an ordinary advocate taking special delight in coming to the aid of "all" persons in need. No petition seems too great for him.

The early Christians who were converted by St. Jude in Asia Minor, where he spent his apostolic years, started immediately to pray to him as though he were still among them. This was a natural sequence, since they had known and talked to him personally when he walked among them and performed his wonders in Christ's name. The early devotions had a special quality of intimacy which they have never lost.

The publication of various books in Italy and Spain on St. Jude during the 19th century indicates a renewed interest in devotion to this powerful saint.

The first important manifestation of wide-spread public veneration of St. Jude in the western hemisphere took place in 1911 in Chile. There the Claretian Missionary Fathers, founded by St. Anthony Claret in Spain less than a century before, built a large shrine to the Apostle, a shrine which still attracts many petitioners even today. From this shrine in Chile, devotion has spread to all the South American countries.

A shrine to St. Jude also was established by the Claretian Missionary Fathers in Chicago in 1929. Called the National Shrine of St. Jude, it was the first major shrine dedicated to him in the United States.

Once again the apostolic zeal of St. Jude is being felt in the world -20 centuries later-as a widely practiced public devotion to him encourages many to turn to him and emulate his apostolic virtues. He is many things to many people.

During the last 60 years, hundreds of thousands of patrons have attended novena services at the National Shrine of St. Jude, alone. Since its origin, the shrine has received more than a million letters of thanks for favors granted or petitions from the faithful seeking the intercession of Saint Jude to relieve or solve family or personal problems.

During the novenas, bundles of petitions, which come from all parts of the United States, and from all walks of life, are placed in front of the Saint Jude altar at the shrine. Nearby, a vigil-light room is constantly aglow with a thousand votive lights representing prayers of thanks and petitions from the patrons of Saint Jude.

Father Mark Brummel, C.M.F., co-director of the National Shrine, has read many of the petitions to Saint Jude and letters of thanks through the years and says that they have been a continuing source of inspiration. "The fascinating stories," he says, "are the ones where a person has gone through a real tragedy. Say, a husband has died and the wife feels all alone. Suddenly she and others who have suffered similar losses feel helped in dealing with the situation through prayer. Suddenly something is totally different in their lives, and they are able to cope. Their situation isn't any different than before, but they are now able to handle it from a personal standpoint-and that, I believe, is the result of prayer."

Those with desperate cases find solace and strength through his intercession on their behalf. The letters of gratitude and the petitions received at the shrine share a common bond: they express a strong belief in the power and goodness of prayer.

The scope of the requests are boundless.

With the continual flow of petitions come the letters of thanks. It seems that once people were introduced to this gentle, caring saint they immediately became very friendly, and the friendship endured, for both were pleased with the relationship: the people with St. Jude's abundant gifts, and the saint with the sincere thanks offered by his friends. Thus, the friendship once sealed is never broken.

The continual growth of the devotion to St. Jude indicates that its full limits have not been reached. Devotional shrines to this now-remembered saint have been erected from New York to San Francisco. Churches being built today are erected under his patronage. Other projects, such as hospitals, and even cities, have been placed under his name and protection. The influence of St. Jude progresses with increasing enthusiasm in public devotions and in shrines.

But it is in the silent mass of ordinary people in untold numbers that is the foundation of the devotion to St. Jude. The babysitter may well be a Jude disciple, or the salesman that comes to your store, or the druggist, or the accountant. They pray without fanfare, without directors, without organization, with nothing but the silent, strong, abiding faith that Jude will help if asked. They must number in the millions, this silent multitude, whose only public acknowledgment is the unobtrusive conversation with friends and neighbors of the wonders of Jude, plus the occasional publishing in newspapers and magazines a simple Thank You, St. Jude which appears almost daily, everywhere.

Many of these devotees to St. Jude suggest the novena set out on the next few pages as one of the more popular ways of accessing the Power of Jude.