St. Jude's Shrine, Kattur
St.Jude's Shrine is in Kattur, Tiruvallur Dist. Many pilgrims throng to this shrine esp on First Sunday, to get favours form St. Jude, the Patron for the Hope of the Hopeless.
Tiruvallyoal, Minjur, Chennai/Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India.
The Gospel tells us that St. Jude was a brother of St. James the Less, also one of the twelve Apostles. These two together with two other brothers (one St. Simeon of Jerusalem) are described by St. Matthew (13:55) as the "brethren" of Jesus. In the Hebrew language, the word "brethren" indicates a near relationship.
Tradition has it that St. Jude's father, Cleophas, was murdered because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ. Mary Cleophas, the mother of St. Jude and St. James the Less, was a cousin of the Virgin Mary. After her death, miracles were attributed to her intercession.
St. Jude is shown, traditionally, as carrying the image of Jesus in his hand. This represents, according to tradition -- our principal sources of knowledge of the saint -- the imprint of the Divine Countenance that was entrusted to him by Our Lord.
The circumstances were these: King Abagaro of Edessa, who suffered from leprosy, sent word to Jesus asking Him to come and cure him. With his request, we are told, the King sent an artist to return with a picture of the Master. Impressed with his great faith, Our Lord pressed His image on a cloth and gave it to St. Jude to bring to the King of Edessa and cure him. The King was cured and together with most of his subjects was converted to Christianity.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, St. Jude traveled throughout Mesopotamia for a period of ten years, preaching and converting many to Christianity. He probably returned to Jerusalem for the Council of the Apostles, and then he and St. Simon visited Libya and Persia where many more converts were made.
St. Jude died a martyr's death. Tradition tells us that he was clubbed, possibly into insensibility, and his head was then shattered with a broad ax. Sometime after his death, St. Jude's body was brought to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica.