Saint Jude, Patron of Hope

October 21, 2026

One of my favorite places here at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls is in a quiet courtyard where we have a beautiful fountain. It is a place where our children, coworkers, and benefactors can visit and enjoy the serenity and tranquility of the sound of water. Near the fountain is a statue of Saint Jude, an important saint for the work we do at Mercy Home.

Saint Jude was one of Jesus’s 12 Apostles. Because there is very little mentioned about him in the Bible, we don’t know much about him. However, Jude is named in each of the four Gospels, sometimes as Judas and other times as Thaddeus. The limited information we have about his life means we don’t even know for sure when he met Jesus. But what we do know is that he believed in Christ and gave up his life to follow him.

In the Gospel of Saint John, Jude asked Jesus why he revealed himself to the Apostles but not the rest of the world. Jesus replied by saying, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” In this, Jude and the rest of the Apostles learned that Jesus and the Father will visit those people who keep the Commandments.

Like the rest of his life, little is known about Jude during Christ’s crucifixion. However, we do know that he was present during the Ascension, as well as at Pentecost. After this, Jude began to travel to spread the Gospel, going as far as Persia with Saint Simon. It was there that they were both martyred.

Images of Saint Jude often have him holding a club, because he was beaten to death by the Persians while he tried to speak to them about converting to Christianity. Other images of Saint Jude depict him with a flame over his head to signify that he was present at Pentecost. Saint Jude and Saint Simon’s remains were eventually brought to Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where they remain today.

Over the years, Saint Jude has become known as the Patron Saint of Hope for difficult causes, someone to pray to when all hope has been lost. This is why I believe it is fitting and meaningful to have his statue at Mercy Home.

Before coming to our Home, many of our young people view their lives as without hope. Others in their lives may do so as well. But thanks to the intercession of Saint Jude, along with friends and benefactors, these precious children heal and begin to thrive under the structure and direction they receive here. I can confidently say that our young people are anything but hopeless causes. Instead, I believe they are proof of Saint Jude’s assistance in our mission of caring for children in crisis here at Mercy Home.

St. Jude’s Feast Day is October 28th. I know I can count on your prayers to St. Jude for Mercy Home’s children; and know that you too are remembered in my prayers.

St. Jude, pray for us.