was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of Our Saviour.
Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea,
Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem
in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as
Bishop of Jerusalem. He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of
the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of
the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. This Apostle is said to have suffered
martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia. The final conversion of
the Armenian nation to Christianity did not take place until the third century
of our era. Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would
not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection. Little else is
known of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa; possibly
martyred with St. Simon in Persia. Jude is invoked in desperate situations
because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in
the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers
had done before them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and
his feast day is October 28. Saint Jude is not the same person as Judas
Iscariot who betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his great sin and lack
of trust in God's mercy.
