St. Jude (Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13) or Thaddeus (Matthew and Mark) is described in the New Testament as a relative (adelphos) of Jesus (Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3), and also the brother of James the Less (Epistle of Jude). The Greek name for Jude is Judas, but before and especially after the Death of Christ there would have been a need to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. “Thaddaeus” is possibly a variant of “Theudas,” which in turn is perhaps used as a Greek equivalent of “Judas” (with the Hebrew Name of God replaced by the Greek “theos”). St. Jude may also have been the author of the shortest book in the New Testament, the letter of Jude which was written by a man passionately concerned both about the purity of the Christian faith and the good reputation of Christian people and warns against corrupt influences that have crept into the Christian Community or Jewish Converts. The writer had, he tells us, planned to write a different letter, but hearing of the misleading views put out by some false teachers in the Christian community, he is urgently writing to warn the church not to heed them. It includes a memorable exhortation to “contend for the faith once delivered to the saints,” and an even more memorable closing:

"To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished and exultant, in the presence of His glory, to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, power, and authority from ages past, now, and for ages to come
Amen."

- The Letter of Jude v.24-25

Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Libya. 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. Jude is the Apostle who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why he chose to reveal Himself to the disciples but not the world. Jesus responds "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:22f) Little else is known of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa. Western tradition says that after preaching in Egypt, Simon joined Jude, and they went on missions for time in Persia. From the 6th century legends say Simon and Jude were martyred together in Persia at Sufian (Siani). 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.