About St. Jude The Apostle
Biography of St. Jude
The Gospel tells us that St. Jude was a brother of St. James the Less, also one of the twelve Apostles. These two, together with two other brothers (one St. Simeon of Jerusalem), are described by St Matthew (13:55) as the "brethren" of Jesus. In the Hebrew language, the word "brethren" indicates a close relationship.
Tradition has it that St. Jude's father, Cleophas, was murdered because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ. Mary Cleophas, the mother of St. Jude and St. James the Less, was a cousin of the Virgin Mary. After her death, miracles were attributed to her intercession.
St. Jude is traditionally shown as carrying the image of Jesus in his hand. This represents, according to tradition our principal sources of knowledge of the saint the imprint of the Divine Countenance that was entrusted to him by Our Lord.
The circumstances were these: King Abagaro of
Edessa, who suffered from leprosy, sent word to Jesus asking Him to come and cure him. With his request, we are told, the King sent an artist to return with a picture of the Master. However, the artist was unable to capture the essence of Jesus' portrait. Impressed with his great faith, Our Lord pressed His image on a cloth and gave it to St. Jude to take to the King of Edessa and cure him. The King was cured and, together with most of his subjects, was converted to Christianity.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, St. Jude traveled throughout
Mesopotamia for a period of ten years, preaching and converting many to Christianity. He probably returned to
Jerusalem for the Council of the Apostles, and then he and St. Simon visited
Libya and
Persia, where many more converts were made.
St. Jude died a martyr's death. Tradition tells us that he was clubbed, possibly into insensibility, and his head was then shattered with a broad ax. Sometime after his death, St. Jude's body was taken to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica.