St. Jude, sometimes called Jude Thaddeus to differentiate him from Judas Isacriot, was born in Galilee. He is the brother of St. James the Less and the son of Alphaeus and Mary Clopas. The only mentions of Jude in the New Testament are found in the lists of the Apostles in the gospels but there are several traditions which have been handed down about him.
Jude is said to have preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya. With Bartholomew, he is credited with introducing Christianity to Armenia. Some traditions say he was the groom at the wedding feast at Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle. Following the martyrdom of James the Less, Jude returned to Jerusalem and was instrumental in the election of his brother Simeon as Bishop of Jerusalem.
Tradition holds that Jude was martyred around the year AD 65 in Beirut with St. Simon the Zealot. The traditional means of his martyrdom is an axe. His remains were later taken to Rome and are buried with Simon's in St. Peter's Basilica.
Jude was the author of the Epistle of Jude. Because this letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the face of difficult circumstances, he has become the patron saint of desperate causes. A great devotion has arisen to St. Jude under this patronage, including the foundation of many hospitals named in honor of the Apostle.