St. Jude Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases. First Biography Second Biography Third Biography Images of St. Jude Pictures Another Picture Jude, Thaddeus, or Lebbeus, son of Alpheus or Cleophas and Mary: The chosen symbol for him is the ship because he was a missionary thought to be a fisherman.