St. Jude is not often represented outside of sets of images of the twelve apostles. When he is, his attribute is a pole or halberd, as in Ottoni's sculpture at left. The Golden Legend says he was hacked to death by pagan magicians, and perhaps the halberd refers to that event. He is depicted with what could be a pole or rod as early as a 5th century portrait at St. Paul Outside the Walls.
In that same fresco he also holds a white disk against his chest. This appears to be the original of another element that develops in his iconography, a pendant bearing the face of Christ (example), reflecting his mission to King Abgarus, to whom Jesus sends a picture of himself in the Golden Legend's account of Jude's life.
Finally, in later images of St. Jude, a flame burns atop his head (same example). This might refer to the flames of which the Mesopotamian devils complained in the Golden Legend: "What will these apostles of the living God do to us? Lo! how we be burnt by flames in their entering into this city." Or it could reflect the fire imagery in Jude's epistle (cached) in the Bible, especially his plea to Christians in verse 23 that they try to save those who have upset them with false doctrines, "pulling them out of the fire."
In modern times St. Jude gained popularity as "the saint of hopeless cases." An unemployed entertainer who prayed to him for just that reason later built St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Feast day: October 28
At left, statue in the Lateran Basilica
Another image:
11th or 12th
century ivoryAlso see:
The Apostles as a GroupHagiography:
Menu