Novena to St Jude
St. Jude Thaddeus was one of the Twelve Apostles. Tradition remembers him as a kinsman of Jesus and the author of the New Testament's Epistle of Jude. For centuries, almost no one prayed to him.
His name sounded too much like Judas Iscariot's, so Christians avoided the confusion and asked other saints for help instead. Over time, that silence gave way, and Jude became known as the saint people turn to only after every other door has closed: the patron of impossible, hopeless, and desperate causes. His novena is one of the most prayed devotions in the Catholic world.
People offer it while facing a diagnosis with no good options, a family falling apart, or a prayer they have almost stopped believing will be answered. His short epistle, one of the New Testament's shortest books, warns against false teachers and urges believers to keep building themselves up in faith, a message for people already unsettled by hard circumstances. This page walks through nine original days of meditation and prayer and ends with a closing prayer for the ninth day.
An Opening Prayer to Begin the Novena
Lord Jesus, I come to You today through the intercession of Your apostle Jude, and I bring a cause I have almost stopped believing can change. Saint Jude, kinsman of the Lord, you who were nearly forgotten and became the one people call on when nothing else has worked, walk with me through these nine days. Amen.
Day 1 — Bringing the Cause No One Else Could Touch
Meditation: Every person who has ever prayed this novena has carried something they were told to give up on. Name that thing plainly today, without softening it or making it smaller than it is. Many who pray this novena also promise, if the prayer is answered, to make the answer known publicly as an act of gratitude, a custom that has helped keep this devotion alive for generations. Saint Jude, hear the cause I bring you today and carry it to the Lord. Amen.
Day 2 — A Kinsman of Jesus, Nearly Forgotten
Meditation: Tradition holds that Jude was a relative of Jesus himself, one of the Twelve who walked beside Him for three years. Yet his name's likeness to Judas Iscariot's kept the faithful from asking his help for centuries, so his intercession went largely unused. That changed within the last hundred years, as Catholics facing hardship, especially during the Great Depression, began asking his help by name in growing numbers and building shrines and parishes in his honor around the world. Saint Jude, you know what it is to be overlooked; do not overlook me now. Amen.
Day 3 — Faithful in the Small, Unnoticed Work
Meditation: The Gospels record almost nothing Jude said or did alone; his faithfulness was in the ordinary, unseen work of following Christ daily, the way most of ours is. Even his own epistle opens with striking humility, calling himself simply "a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James" rather than claiming any special standing among the apostles (Jude 1:1). Ask him today for the patience to be faithful in what feels small while you wait for the large thing to change. Saint Jude, teach me faithfulness in the meantime. Amen.
Day 4 — What 'Impossible' Really Means
Meditation: Jesus told His disciples plainly, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible' (Matthew 19:26). Impossible is a word that describes human power, not God's. An angel said something nearly identical to Mary at the Annunciation, 'For nothing will be impossible with God' (Luke 1:37), a promise made centuries apart from Jude's own lifetime but never withdrawn. Bring today the exact thing you have called impossible, out loud if you can. Saint Jude, place it before the God for whom it is not impossible. Amen.
Day 5 — Praying Without Knowing the Outcome
Meditation: Most of this novena will be prayed before you know how the story ends. That not-knowing is the hardest part of it, and it is also the whole point of asking rather than demanding. Scripture promises that "the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" (James 5:16), a promise about persistent prayer, not about a guaranteed timeline. Saint Jude, hold my cause steady in the waiting, whatever shape the answer finally takes. Amen.
Day 6 — Courage to Keep Asking
Meditation: It takes a particular kind of courage to keep praying for something after the first, second, and tenth prayer has not visibly changed anything. Jesus told a parable about a widow who kept asking a reluctant judge for justice until he finally relented, specifically so His disciples would learn to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1-8). Ask Saint Jude today for that specific courage: to keep asking without growing bitter toward God or tired of hoping. Saint Jude, renew my courage to keep asking. Amen.
Day 7 — Trusting God's Timing Over Your Own
Meditation: A cause can look completely hopeless and still be moving, just not on the timeline you had planned for it. Scripture puts it simply: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1), a reminder that delay is not the same thing as denial. Today, hand over not only the outcome but the calendar you had in mind for it to arrive. Saint Jude, help me trust the timing I cannot see or measure. Amen.
Day 8 — Gratitude Before the Answer Arrives
Meditation: Thank God today for what this cause has already taught you, whatever ends up happening next. Gratitude offered before an answer comes is a different, deeper kind of faith than gratitude offered only after. Saint Paul urged the same discipline in his letter to the Thessalonians: "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Saint Jude, teach me to give thanks now, not just later. Amen.
Day 9 — Placing the Cause Fully in God's Hands
Meditation: On this last day, say plainly what you have been circling for nine days: this is Yours to carry, not mine to fix. Peter wrote to a scattered, struggling Church with the same instruction: "casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Saint Jude, carry this cause to the throne of grace one final time, and stay near it after today. Amen.
A Closing Prayer for the Ninth Day
Lord Jesus, for nine days I have brought this cause to You through the prayers of Your apostle Jude. I still do not know how this will end. Teach me to keep trusting when the answer is slow and to keep hoping when the situation looks unchanged. Saint Jude, patron of the causes everyone else has given up on, do not give up on this one. Amen.
Scripture to pray
But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."— Matthew 19:26 (ESV)
And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles... and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.— Luke 6:13–16 (ESV)
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.— Jude 1:20–21 (ESV)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.— Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
Frequently asked questions
When is St. Jude's feast day?
St. Jude's feast day is October 28, which he shares with the apostle St. Simon in the Roman Catholic calendar. Many parishes and shrines hold special novena services leading up to that date, though the novena itself can be prayed at any time of year.
What is St. Jude the patron saint of?
St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible, hopeless, and desperate causes. Catholics turn to him specifically for situations that feel beyond ordinary help, from serious illness to broken relationships to problems that have already resisted every other solution.
How do you pray a novena to St. Jude?
Pray one day's meditation and closing prayer for nine days in a row, naming the same specific cause each day. There is no required time of day; consistency across the nine days matters more than the hour you choose to pray it.
Was St. Jude really related to Jesus?
Catholic tradition holds that St. Jude Thaddeus was a kinsman of Jesus, often identified with "Judas the son of James" listed among the Twelve Apostles in Luke's Gospel. He is also traditionally credited as the author of the New Testament's Epistle of Jude.
Is there a shorter version of the St. Jude novena?
Yes. Many parishes and shrines offer a perpetual novena, a single Wednesday service dedicated to St. Jude prayed in one sitting rather than across nine consecutive days. The nine-day form on this page is the traditional structure, but praying even one day's meditation with sincerity is a legitimate way to ask for St. Jude's intercession when nine full days are not possible right now.
Can I pray this novena at the same time as another one?
Yes, there is no rule against praying more than one novena at once. Many Catholics pray the St. Jude Novena alongside a novena to another saint or a Marian devotion, since each prayer is directed to God through a different intercessor. Just try to give each prayer real, unhurried attention rather than rushing through both to check them off.