Saint Jude(1-65) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus and is also variously called Jude of James, Jude of Thaddaeus. Judas Thaddeus became known as Jude after early translators of the New Testament from Greek into English sought to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus before his crucifixion.
He was born in the first century in Galilee. In the Roman Catholic Church, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. Aside from Judas Iscariot, the New Testament mentions Jude or Judas six times in four different contexts. According to tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut together with the apostle Simon the Zealot with whom he usually connects. The axe that he is often shown holding in pictures symbolizes the way in which he was killed.
Saint Jude’s body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a crypt in St.Peter’s Basilica.