St. Jude Devotees

St. Jude devotees are not organized. There is no president. There are no bylaws. However, we know there are a large number of us because, almost daily, in the major newspapers around the country, there are "Thank You St. Jude" messages in the classified ad sections. There are at least nine shrines to St. Jude across the country and into Canada, that receive thousands of visitors each year.

Nobody knows how many devotees there are because nobody tells us they are one until we stumble across the fact that the person you've worked with for years is a St. Jude devotee, too, for instance. And, believe it or not, your friend may, or may not, be Catholic! Just because St. Jude is a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, and Coptic Christian standards and a policeman's or soccer player's patron saint (St. Jude is the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department and Clube de Regatas do Flamingo in Rio de Janeiro, for instance) doesn't mean you have to be any of these to call upon Jude to assist you.

Other than Mary, the mother of Jesus, St. Jude is America's most revered saint. In addition to the shrines, there are at least 42 churches in St. Jude's name. The St. Jude League of Chicago claims over one million members.

There are approximately 230 million Christians in the United States, of which approximately 55 million belong to churches that revere St. Jude. How many St. Jude devotees are there? Nobody knows for sure, but there are millions in the United States and Canada and millions more in South America and Europe and around the world.

May those devotees be messengers of peace and love around the world.