Novena to Saint Jude — Patron Saint of Desperate Causes
Who is Saint Jude?
Saint Jude Thaddeus was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ and, according to tradition, a relative of Our Lord. Although often confused with Judas Iscariot, Saint Jude is a completely different person—faithful and true to Christ until death. Because his name sounded so much like the traitor’s, many of the faithful hesitated for a long time to turn to him. Yet in our darkest hours we have come to know him as the patron of lost causes, impossible situations, and desperate cases.
Devotion to him grew rapidly in the 20th century, and many of the faithful speak of the comfort and hope they found by entrusting their heaviest burdens to him.
Why Pray the Novena to Saint Jude?
This novena is prayed over nine days, from October 19 to October 27, ending on the eve of his feast day. The Church celebrates the feast of Saints Simon and Jude, apostles, on October 28. Through the novena, we ask Saint Jude to intercede for us in:
- Urgent and impossible causes
- Financial struggles or legal problems
- Illness or suffering in body and soul
- Hope in times of despair or spiritual dryness
Many also pray the ninth day on the feast itself (October 28)
How to Pray the Novena
Each day includes:
- The opening prayer to Saint Jude
- The daily prayer (Day 1 to Day 9)
- “St. Jude, pray for us. My Jesus, mercy.”
- Optional: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be
You may light a candle or place an image of Saint Jude while praying.
Opening Prayer (repeat every day before each day’s intention)
St. Jude, glorious apostle, faithful servant and friend of Jesus,
the name of the traitor has caused you to be forgotten by many.But the Church honors and invokes you universally
as the patron of hopeless cases, and of things despaired of.
Pray for me who am so distressed.Make use, I implore you, of that particular privilege accorded
you to bring visible and speedy help where help was almost despaired of.Come to my assistance in this great
need that I may receive the consolation and
succor of Heaven in all my necessities,
tribulations and sufferings, particularly….(Make your request here.)
and that I may bless God with you and all the
elect throughout eternity.St. Jude,
apostle,
martyr,
and relative of our Lord Jesus Christ,
of Mary,
and of Joseph,
intercede for us!Amen.
Daily Novena Prayers
Day One
O blessed apostle St. Jude,
who labored zealously among the
Gentiles in many lands,
and performed numerous miracles in
needy and despairing cases,
we invoke you to take special interest in
us and our needs.We feel that you understand
us in a particular way.Hear our prayers and our petitions and plead
for us in all our necessities especially…
(Make your request here.)
May we be patient in learning God’s holy will
and courageous in carrying it out.Amen.
St. Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy
Day Two
O blessed apostle Jude,
who has been instrumental in
gathering us here together this day,
grant that we may always
serve Jesus Christ as he deserves to be served,
giving of our best efforts
in living as he wishes us to live.
May we dispose our hearts and minds
that God will always be inclined to listen
to our prayers and petitions,
especially those petitions
which we entrust to your care and for which we as
you to plead for us…(Make your request here.)
Grant that we may be enlightened as to what is
best for us,
in the present and future,
not forgetting the blessings
we have received in the past.
Amen.St. Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy
Day Three
O holy St. Jude,
apostle of Jesus Christ,
you who have so faithfully and
devotedly helped to spread his Gospel of Light,
we who are gathered together today
in your honor,
ask and petition you to
remember us and our needs.
Especially do we pray for…(Make your request here.)
May it also please our Lord to lend an ear to
your supplications in our behalf.
Grant that we may ever pray with
fervor and devotion,
resigning ourselves humbly to the divine will,
seeing God’s purpose in all our trials
and knowing that he will leave no sincere prayer
unanswered in some way.
Amen.St. Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy
Day Four
O blessed Saint Jude,
you were called to be one of
Christ’s chosen apostles and labored to bring
men to a knowledge and love of God;
listen with compassion to those
gathered together to honor you and ask
your intercession.
In this troubled world of ours
we have many trials,
difficulties,
and temptations.
Plead for us in the heavenly court,
asking that our petitions
may be answered,
especially the particular one we have in mind at
this moment…(Make your request here)
May it please God to answer our prayers in
the way that he knows best, giving us grace to
see his purpose in all things.
Amen.St. Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy
Day Five
O holy St. Jude,
apostle and companion of Christ Jesus,
you have shown us by example
how to lead a life of zeal
and devotion.
We humbly entreat you
today to hear our prayers and petitions.
Especially do we ask you
to obtain for us the following favor…(Make your request here)
Grant that in praying for present and future favors
we may not forget the innumerable ones
granted in the past but
often return to give thanks.
Humbly we resign ourselves to
God’s holy will,
knowing that he alone knows
what is best for us especially in our present
needs and necessities.
Amen.St. Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy
Day Six
St. Jude,
apostle of Christ and helper in
despairing cases,
hear the prayers and petitions
of those who are
gathered together in your honor.
In all our needs and desires may
we only seek what is pleasing to God and
what is best for our salvation.
These, our petitions…(Make your request here)
we submit to you,
asking you to obtain them for us,
if they are for the good of our souls.
We are resigned to God’s
holy will in all things,
knowing that he will leave no sincere prayer
unanswered in some way
though it may be in a way unexpected by us.
Amen.St. Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy
Day Seven
O holy apostle Saint Jude,
in whose honor we are gathered today,
may we never forget that our
Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ chose you to be one of twelve apostles.
Because of this and of the martyrdom you
suffered for the Faith,
we know you are a close friend of Almighty God.
Therefore we do not hesitate to petition you
in our necessities,
especially…(Make your request here)
We humbly submit ourselves to the will of God,
knowing full well that no sincere prayer is
ever left unanswered.
May we see God’s good and gracious purpose
working in all our trials.
Amen.St. Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy
Day Eight
O holy Saint Jude,
apostle of Christ,
pray that we may ever imitate
the Divine Master and live according to His will.
May we cooperate with the grace of God and
ever remain pleasing in His sight.
Especially do we ask you to plead for
us and obtain whatsoever is necessary
for our salvation.
Forget not our special petitions…(Make your request here)
May we always be
thankful to God for the
blessings we have received in the past.Whatsoever we ask for the present or future,
we submit to the divine will,
realizing that God knows best what is good for us.
We know He will respond to our prayers
and petitions in one way or another.
Amen.St. Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy
Day Nine
O holy Saint Jude,
apostle and martyr,
grant that we may so dispose our lives that we
may always be pleasing to God.
In working out our salvation in this life
we have many needs and necessities.
Today we turn to you,
asking you to intercede for us and
obtain for us the favors we ask of God.Especially do we petition for…
(Make your request here)
May we not so much seek temporal good but
rather what will avail our souls,
knowing that it will profit us nothing
if we gain the whole world yet suffer the loss
of our soul.
Therefore,
may we incline ourselves toward the divine will,
seeing God’s good and
gracious purpose in all our trials.
Amen.St. Jude, pray for us!
My Jesus, mercy
The Apostle Behind the Devotion
Saint Jude appears in the lists of the Twelve in the Gospel of Luke and in the Acts of the Apostles, and the Gospel of John records his only question at the Last Supper: “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” (John 14:22), where he is carefully named “Judas, not Iscariot.” The New Testament letter that bears his name opens with the words “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.”
According to ancient tradition, he preached the Gospel far from home and gave his life for Christ. The Church remembers him together with Saint Simon on October 28. That is why this novena ends on the eve of the feast: we walk toward it with our petitions in hand, trusting that the apostle who stood by Jesus will stand by us.
Frequently Asked Questions
The novena runs for nine days, from October 19 to October 27, 2026, ending on the eve of the feast of Saints Simon and Jude (October 28). Many also pray the ninth day on the feast itself. You may also pray it at any other time of the year when you need to entrust a pressing need to Saint Jude.
No. Saint Jude, also called Thaddeus, is a different apostle from Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. The Gospel of John names him Judas, not Iscariot, to make the difference clear.
It is a patronage born of the devotion of the faithful, who for generations have turned to him in desperate situations. It is not a formal declaration of the Church. We pray to him as a friend of Jesus who presents our petition to God, whose will is always best for us.
The custom is to pray on nine consecutive days. If you miss a day, simply continue where you left off and entrust it to the Lord. What matters is the trust with which we pray.
