Novena to St. Jude
St. Jude Thaddeus, one of the twelve Apostles, is the patron saint of hopeless causes and desperate situations. Turn to him when all seems lost.
Duration
9 consecutive days
Feast Day
October 28
Intention
Desperate and impossible causes
Daily Prayer
Pray this prayer each day for nine days, adding your personal intentions.
Opening Prayer
Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally as the patron of hope. Please intercede on my behalf. Make use of that particular privilege given to you to bring hope, comfort, and help where they are needed most.
Main Petition
Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven as I work with my challenges, particularly:
[State your intention here]
I praise God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.
Prayer for Intercession
St. Jude, glorious Apostle, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered your beloved Master into the hands of His enemies has caused you to be forgotten by many. But 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. Make use, I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you to 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.
Closing Prayer
I praise God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen.
Conclude With
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
About St. Jude
St. Jude Thaddeus was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is often confused with Judas Iscariot, which may explain why he was rarely invoked until relatively recently. His name means "heart" or "courageous."
After Pentecost, St. Jude traveled through Mesopotamia, preaching the Gospel and performing miracles. He is believed to have been martyred in Persia, where he was killed with a club and then beheaded.
He is invoked in desperate situations because his association with the traitor Judas caused people to avoid praying to him, reserving his intercession for only the most desperate cases. This made him especially attentive to those who call upon him.