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Apostle · patron of desperate cases · 1929 shrine prayers
Novena to St. Jude
Nine days of prayer to St. Jude Thaddeus, printed word for word from an old Catholic book (the source is given below). The same prayers are said on each of the nine days.
Praying all nine days? The free app tracks your nine days, remembers your intention and reminds you each day: Google Play · App Store.
How to make the novena
Novena of Nine Thursdays or Sundays.
Start your novena on one particular Thursday or Sunday and persevere for nine consecutive Thursdays or Sundays.
The prayers (every day of the nine)
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
O glorious apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, true relative of Jesus and Mary I salute thee through the most Sacred Heart of Jesus! Through this Heart I praise and thank God for all the graces He has bestowed upon thee. Humbly prostrate before thee, I implore thee through this Heart to look down upon me with compassion. Oh, despise not my poor prayer; let not my trust be confounded! To thee God has granted the privilege of aiding mankind in the most desperate cases. Oh, come to my aid, that I may praise the mercies of God! All my life I will be grateful to thee and will be thy faithful client until I can thank thee in heaven. Amen.
Priest: "Blessed Apostle, with confidence we invoke thee!"
People: "Blessed Apostle, with confidence we invoke thee!"
Priest: "St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress."
People: "St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress."
Pray for us, that we before death may expiate all our sins by sincere repentance and the worthy reception of the holy sacraments.
Pray for us, that we may appease the Divine Justice and obtain a favorable judgment.
Pray for us, that we may be admitted into the company of the blessed to rejoice in the presence of our God forever.
The following prayer to be recited by both priest and people, the latter repeating the words after him.
Most holy apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of his enemies has caused thee to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases and of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so miserable; make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded to thee to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolations and succor of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may bless God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity.
I promise thee, O blessed Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc., three times.
St. Jude Thaddeus, pray for us.
And for all who invoke thy aid.
Source: Wm. A. Marchant, O.P., Life of St. Jude Thaddeus: Devotional Exercises and Novena Prayers (Chicago: Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus, Dominican Fathers, 1929), pp. 19–21 · view the page scan
Frequently asked
What is a novena?
A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer for a particular intention, after the pattern of the apostles who prayed for nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost.
How do I pray the Novena to St. Jude?
Pray the prayers given here on nine days in a row, as the source book directs; the text is printed exactly as it appears there.
Can I pray a novena for any intention?
Yes. Bring whatever intention is on your heart and entrust it to the prayers of St. Jude Thaddeus.
Other novenas
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