To his devotees worldwide, Saint Jude is celebrated not only on his October 28 feast day but year-round by pilgrims who seek hope in the face of life’s hardest trials. The novena to Saint Jude is said to have “never been known to fail.”
And let’s face it: we’ve all had moments when we needed a miracle prayer that never fails.
For pilgrims on their way to Rome for what remains of this Jubilee Year, the Eternal City offers sites that honor Saint Jude through relics, altars, and entire devotional churches. These places invite you to step into centuries of prayer and discover why the world continues to recognize Saint Jude as the Apostle of Hope.
Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Catholicism’s global capital, is a fitting resting place for this patron saint of hope who once walked with Christ Himself. Within the basilica, past the tour groups and private chapels, lies Saint Jude’s remains. More specifically, they are buried beneath the main altar (the Baldacchino) in the left transept. This hidden crypt rests alongside Saint Jude’s fellow apostle, Saint Simon the Zealot (Saint Peter himself is buried directly beneath the Baldacchino in the center of the basilica).
While one of the quieter places of adoration at the Vatican, pilgrims still gather here to seek Saint Jude’s intercession for their own impossible causes. His remains, so within reach of today’s visitors, serve as a reminder that Saint Jude’s intercession truly is within our grasp. The remains remind us that divine aid is just a prayer away, and that no cause is too hopeless for the patron saint of miracles.
Across the Tiber River, the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro offers another profound connection to Saint Jude. Within its gilded Baroque walls rests a relic of the saint’s arm, raised in a pose as if sharing a blessing. The relic and its powerful pose is a symbol of his enduring presence, accessible to all.
Pilgrims of this holy site often describe leaving San Salvatore with renewed hope, knowing that the Apostle who once walked beside Christ continues to walk beside them.
On Via Rovereto in Rome, the Chiesa di San Giuda Taddeo delle Suore Carmelitane is solely dedicated to Saint Jude. Unlike Saint Peter’s or the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, this parish is tucked into a quiet corner of Rome’s Trieste neighborhood and radiates intimate simplicity. Devotees come not only on his feast day but throughout the year to light green candles—colors of hope and renewal—and to entrust their burdens to the Apostle of miracles.
Here, Saint Jude is not a distant saint but a companion, one who reminds believers that even the heaviest crosses can be carried with faith.
To walk through these churches is to step into a living tradition that unites past and present. From the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, to the relic at San Salvatore in Lauro, to the dedicated parish on Via Rovereto, pilgrims find tangible reminders that no prayer is ever too small and no cause too lost for Saint Jude.
Rome’s devotion to St. Jude is more than ritual; it is a testament to the human spirit’s need for hope. And in the Apostle of impossible causes, we discover not just a saint of history, but a steadfast companion who assures us—even in life’s darkest hours—that miracles remain possible.
Thumbnail photo: “San Salvatore in Lauro” by Kent Wang, CC BY-SA 2.0
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