Prayer to St. Jude Thaddeus for Difficult and Hopeless Cases

The short answer to “how do I pray to St. Jude?” is this: speak to him as a friend of Jesus, name your need plainly, and ask him to carry it to God. Many people do this with a traditional prayer repeated for nine days in a row, a novena.

Below you will find the full traditional prayer, a simple way to pray the novena, who St. Jude was, and why his feast on October 28 fills a corner of Mexico City with one of the most moving displays of faith in the Americas.

Who was St. Jude Thaddeus?

Jude was one of the twelve apostles. Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles call him “Judas son of James,” while Matthew and Mark list him as Thaddeus, a name that helped set him apart from Judas Iscariot. In John’s Gospel he appears as “Judas, not Iscariot,” the apostle who asks Jesus at the Last Supper why he will reveal himself to the disciples and not to the world (John 14:22). The short Letter of Jude, near the end of the New Testament, is traditionally attributed to him.

According to tradition he preached in Persia together with the apostle Simon and died a martyr, which is why the two share a feast day on October 28. In art he usually holds a staff and carries an image of Jesus close to his heart. In Mexico his statues are almost always dressed in a white tunic and a green mantle.

Why is St. Jude the patron of hopeless causes?

There is no single official explanation, but two reasons are usually given. The first is very human: because his name sounded like the betrayer’s, many Christians are said to have avoided praying to him, so he became the saint people turned to only when everything else had failed. The Spanish version of his traditional prayer says it outright: the name of the traitor caused many to forget him, yet the Church honors him as patron of difficult and desperate cases.

The second points to his letter, which urges believers under pressure to keep themselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life (Jude 21). Either way, Jude became the companion of people who feel they have run out of options. His devotion spread widely in the twentieth century, from the National Shrine of St. Jude, founded by the Claretian Fr. James Tort in Chicago in 1929, to parishes all over Mexico.

The traditional prayer to St. Jude

This is the prayer most often printed on holy cards and used in the novena, in the version published by EWTN:

“Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult 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 St. 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.”

Many people close with an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be. If you would rather use your own words, that is fine too. The heart of the prayer is honesty about what you need and trust that you are not carrying it alone.

How to pray the St. Jude novena

A novena is a prayer offered on nine consecutive days, recalling the nine days the apostles prayed together between the Ascension and Pentecost. A simple way to pray it:

• Choose a quiet moment each day and, if you like, light a candle in front of an image of St. Jude.
• Begin with the Sign of the Cross and a short act of contrition.
• Pray the traditional prayer above, naming your intention at the pause.
• Finish with an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be.
• Repeat for nine days in a row. If you miss a day, simply pick up again.

St. Jude in Mexico: San Hipólito and the 28th of every month

In Mexico, devotion to San Judas Tadeo is enormous and very public. Its heart is the Church of San Hipólito, on Avenida Hidalgo at the edge of the Alameda Central in Mexico City. Built between 1599 and 1740 on the site of an earlier chapel linked to the Noche Triste of 1520, the church placed an image of St. Jude on its main altar in 1982, and today most people simply call it the temple of San Judas.

The Church calendar has one feast for him, October 28, but devotees honor him on the 28th of every month. On October 28 thousands of people fill the streets around San Hipólito, many carrying their own statues of the saint in green and white, while others hand out holy cards, rosaries and food to strangers as a way of giving thanks. It has made Jude one of the most beloved patron saints in the country.

Keeping St. Jude close at home

You don’t need to travel to Mexico City to pray with him. Many people keep a holy card in their wallet, pray briefly on the 28th of each month, and return to the novena when a new difficulty arrives. A small image on a home altar keeps the nine days in view, and some families leave milagros, little metal charms, as thanks for prayers answered.

Our St. Jude Thaddeus retablo shows him as a Catrina in front of San Miguel’s pink Parroquia, with his prayer, a way to bring a little of that Mexican devotion into your home. For a friend going through a hard season, the gift box adds a milagro charm, a prayer card and a candle.