SAINT JUDE PATRON OF LOST CAUSES

Press Association Mediapoint, UK
October 27, 2013 Sunday 3:49 PM BST

by Neil Lancefield, Press Association

St Jude, whose name has been given to the storm expected to hit
England and Wales tonight and tomorrow, has been described as the
saint to call on in seemingly impossible situations.

In the Roman Catholic Church he is the patron saint of lost causes
and his feast day is tomorrow.

Jude was one of Jesus’s 12 apostles chosen to spread the gospel.

Also known as Thaddeus, he is said to have been born into a Jewish
family in Palestine and, according to legend, he brought Christianity
to Armenia.

The ancient St Thaddeus Monastery still exists in what is now
northern Iran.

Details of his life are scarce but it is believed that in about 60AD
he wrote a letter to the persecuted churches of the East.

In it he stressed the importance of persisting despite facing severe
circumstances, as their forefathers had done before them.

He is said to have been martyred around five years later and his body
was taken to St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

St Jude is often displayed in pictures with a flame above his head
to represent Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the
other apostles.

He is now a popular choice for people who feel they need a beacon of
hope in tough times.

In the US he is the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department and a
children’s research hospital in Memphis, Tennessee is named after him.

He is also the patron saint of the Flamengo football team in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress