St. Jude Prayers for Hopeless Cases and Every Need
These are the prayers people have prayed to Saint Jude for generations, gathered in one place. You do not need all of them. One honest prayer, prayed with trust, is enough. If you want to pray for nine days in a row, begin the novena here.
The Novena Prayer to St. Jude
This is the prayer most people mean when they talk about the St. Jude Novena. Pray it once a day for nine days, and name your need where it is marked.
Most holy Apostle, Saint Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone.
Intercede with God for me that He bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (make your request here), and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever.
I promise, O Blessed Saint Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen.
The Short St. Jude Prayer (Sacred Heart Prayer)
Many people pray this short form nine times a day for nine days. More about the short novena.
May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved and preserved throughout the world, now and forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Saint Jude, worker of miracles, pray for us. Saint Jude, help of the hopeless, pray for us. Amen.
Prayer to St. Jude in Time of Need
An old prayer that greets Saint Jude through the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the source of every grace.
O glorious apostle, Saint Jude Thaddeus, true relative of Jesus and Mary, I salute thee in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus! Through this Heart I praise and thank God for all the graces He has bestowed upon thee. Humbly prostrate before thee, I implore thee through this Heart to look down upon me with compassion. Oh, despise not my poor prayer; let not my trust be confounded! To thee God has granted the privilege of aiding mankind in the most desperate cases. Oh, come to my aid, that I may praise the mercies of God! All my life I will be thy grateful client until I can thank thee in heaven. Amen.
The prayers said with the novena
After the novena prayer each day, it is the custom to pray these three.
Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
A prayer of thanks to St. Jude
When your prayer is answered, the novena asks you to remember and to give thanks. This simple prayer was written for this site. Use it, or use your own words.
Saint Jude, faithful friend of Jesus, thank you for praying for me when I could not see a way through. I give thanks to God, who heard us and answered in His time and in His way. Help me keep my promise: to remember this gift, to honor you, and to tell others that no one is beyond hope. Amen.
Praying for a particular need
People bring every kind of trouble to Saint Jude. There is no special prayer you must use for each one. Pray the novena and name your need plainly where it says "make your request here." Here is how others have done it.
For healing
Name the person and the illness. Ask for healing, for good doctors and for strength for the family. Many people also pray the novena for someone too sick to pray for themselves.
For work or money troubles
Name the job, the bill or the decision in front of you. Ask for a way forward and for the grace to take the next step. The novena grew strong during the Great Depression, when families had lost almost everything.
For a family member
A son or daughter who has drifted, a marriage under strain, a parent far away. Saint Jude was part of a family that followed Jesus, and his own letter asks us to be merciful and to pull others back from the fire (Jude 23).
For something you cannot put into words
Sometimes you cannot even name it. That is all right. Say, "Saint Jude, you know what I need," and keep praying.
A note on chain letters
You may find papers that tell you to make dozens of copies of this prayer, leave them in church and expect an answer by a certain day. That is not part of the devotion, and the Church warns against it as superstition. Prayer is not a formula. Pray with trust, give thanks, and share the novena freely with anyone who needs hope.