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St. Jude Timeline: His Life at a Glance

Dates in the first century are often approximate. Where a date or detail comes from tradition rather than Scripture, I have said so.

In the time of Jesus

Early first century. Jude is born into a Jewish family in Galilee. By tradition his parents are Clopas and Mary of Clopas, and he is a cousin of our Lord. His brothers are counted among the "brethren" of Jesus: James, Joseph and Simon (Mark 6:3).

Around the years 28 to 30. Jesus chooses twelve apostles, and Jude is one of them (Luke 6:13-16). He leaves everything to follow the Lord.

The night before the Passion. At the Last Supper, Jude asks Jesus why He will reveal Himself to the disciples and not to the world. Jesus answers with a promise for everyone who loves Him (John 14:22-23).

After the Ascension. Jude prays in the upper room with the Blessed Mother and the other apostles for nine days, waiting for the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:13-14). This is the first novena.

Pentecost. The Holy Spirit comes down on the apostles as tongues of fire (Acts 2:1-4). This is why Saint Jude is often pictured with a small flame above his head.

As an apostle

The years after Pentecost (tradition). Jude preaches the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Syria and Mesopotamia, and later in Persia, often together with Saint Simon the Zealot.

The year 62 (tradition). After his brother, Saint James the Less, is martyred in Jerusalem, the apostles and relatives of the Lord gather to choose Simeon, a son of Clopas, to lead the Church there. The historian Eusebius records this gathering, and tradition places Jude among them.

Second half of the first century. The Letter of Jude is written to believers under pressure, urging them to "contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Its exact date is not known.

Around the year 65 (tradition). Jude gives his life for Christ as a martyr, most often placed in Persia. Western tradition says he was killed with a club or an axe. Some Eastern accounts place his death in Armenia.

After his death

Late first century. The early historian Hegesippus, preserved by Eusebius, tells of Jude's grandsons, simple farmers who were brought before the Emperor Domitian and released.

Later centuries. His relics are brought to Rome. Today they rest in Saint Peter's Basilica, beneath the altar of Saint Joseph in the left transept, together with those of Saint Simon.

The Middle Ages (tradition). Saint Bridget of Sweden is said to have been told in a vision to turn to Saint Jude with great faith and confidence. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux is also remembered as devoted to him.

In our own time

1929. Father James Tort, a Claretian priest, begins a novena to Saint Jude at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in South Chicago, where many families depend on the steel mills. The first solemn novena opens on February 17. On the closing night, the feast of Saint Jude, more than a thousand people stand outside the packed church. Devotion spreads across America through the Great Depression and the Second World War.

1959. A weekly Thursday novena to Saint Jude begins in Manila, at the church that becomes the National Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus in the Philippines.

1962. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital opens in Memphis, the fruit of a promise Danny Thomas made to Saint Jude as a struggling young entertainer.

Today. Every October 28, the Church keeps the feast of Saints Simon and Jude, and millions of people around the world pray his novena.

Back to Who Is Saint Jude? · Begin the novena

Sources

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