October 28th is the feast of St. Jude the Apostle and the feastday of Mother Judith, our Superior General.
Happy Feastday, Mother Judith!
We want to share with our readers the story of your Patron Saint!
St. Jude, Patron Saint of Hope and impossible causes, is one of Jesus’ original twelve Apostles.
He was the brother of St. James the Less, also one of the Apostles. Many believe that they were cousins of Jesus, as they are described in scripture as “brethren” of Jesus.
Pictures of St. Jude show him always carrying the image of Jesus in his hand. It seems that King Abagar of Edessa asked Jesus to cure him of leprosy and sent an artist to bring him a drawing of Jesus. Tradition says that Jesus was moved by the King’s great faith, and so (like the story of Veronica and the veil) Jesus pressed His face on a cloth, leaving the image of His face on it. Tradition continues that Jesus then gave the cloth to St. Jude, who took the image to Abagar and the King, indeed, was cured.
St. Jude traveled throughout Mesopotamia, Libya, and Persia and died a martyr, for his unwavering faith. His body lies in Rome in a crypt under St. Peter’s Basilica.
Today, people throughout the world pray for the intercession of St. Jude, the Patron of impossible and hopeless causes.
