Patron Saint of Lost Causes and Desperate Situations

St. Jude Thaddeus, one of the twelve apostles, is the patron saint of lost causes and desperate situations. For difficult and “impossible” cases Catholics also turn to St. Rita of Cascia, the saint of the impossible; to St. Expeditus for urgent needs; to St. Gregory the Wonderworker; and to Mary, Undoer of Knots. None of these saints works magic: they pray with us to the God for whom “nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

Below: the patron saints of lost causes, why each is invoked, and prayers for a situation that seems hopeless.

Patron saints of lost and impossible causes

Saint	Invoked for	Feast day	Prayers
St. Jude Thaddeus	Lost causes, desperate situations	October 28	St. Jude prayer; St. Jude novena
St. Rita of Cascia	Impossible causes, difficult marriages	May 22	St. Rita prayer
St. Expeditus	Urgent causes, procrastination	April 19
St. Gregory the Wonderworker	Desperate situations	November 17
Mary, Undoer of Knots	Tangled problems in life and family
St. Philomena	Impossible cases (by popular devotion)	August 11

Why St. Jude?

St. Jude, also called Thaddeus, was an apostle and, according to tradition, a martyr who preached in Persia with St. Simon. Because his name resembled that of Judas Iscariot, the traitor, he was rarely invoked for centuries; one explanation of his patronage is that he became the “forgotten saint” to whom people turned when everything else had failed. Devotion to him spread widely in the twentieth century, especially through the National Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, founded by Danny Thomas in thanks for a prayer answered.

Why St. Rita?

St. Rita (c. 1381–1457) lived through an abusive marriage, the murder of her husband, the death of her sons and three refusals by the convent she wished to enter, and became a nun and a saint. In Spain she was called la santa de los imposibles. See the St. Rita prayer.

Why St. Expeditus?

St. Expeditus was a Roman soldier martyred in Armenia in the early fourth century. Legend says that when he decided to convert, a crow (the devil) cried cras, cras, “tomorrow, tomorrow,” but he crushed it, saying “Today!” He is invoked in urgent needs and against procrastination.

Mary, Undoer of Knots

A Baroque painting in Augsburg, Germany, shows Mary untying the knots of a ribbon held by angels, recalling St. Irenaeus’s words that “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary.” Pope Francis, who discovered the image in Germany, spread the devotion in Argentina and the world. Catholics ask Mary to untie the “knots” of sin, conflict and confusion in their lives.

A prayer for a lost cause

Written for this page:

Lord God, nothing is impossible for you.
I bring you a situation that seems hopeless: (name your intention).
St. Jude, apostle of the hopeless, St. Rita, saint of the impossible,
and Mary, who unties every knot, pray for me.
Give me patience while I wait, courage to do what I can,
and peace to accept your will, whatever the answer. Amen.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the patron saint of lost causes?

St. Jude Thaddeus, apostle and martyr, whose feast is October 28.

What is the difference between St. Jude and St. Rita?

Both are invoked in desperate situations. St. Jude is the apostle of “hopeless cases”; St. Rita, a fifteenth-century wife, mother and nun, is the saint of “impossible causes” and of difficult marriages.

Is St. Expeditus a real saint?

He is listed in older editions of the Roman Martyrology, and devotion to him is widespread, though little is known historically about his life.

More patron saints and prayers

Sources

Scripture: Luke 1:37, Douay-Rheims Bible.
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies III, 22, 4 (Mary loosing the knot of Eve).
Feast days follow the General Roman Calendar and the Roman Martyrology.
The prayer was written for this page.