The feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, apostles, is celebrated on October 28. Simon, called “the Zealot” (or “the Cananean”), and Jude, also called Thaddeus, were two of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus; according to ancient tradition they preached the Gospel together in Persia and were martyred there, which is why the Church honors them on the same day. Jude is also the author of the short Letter of Jude in the New Testament and is famous today as the patron of desperate and impossible cases. Below are their lives, Scripture, the prayer of their feast and a prayer to both apostles.
A short prayer to Sts. Simon and Jude, written for this page:
Holy apostles Simon and Jude, you left everything to follow Jesus and gave your lives for him.
Pray for me in my need: (name your intention).
Help me to share the faith with zeal and to trust God even when things seem hopeless. Amen.
Who were Simon and Jude?
St. Luke lists both of them among the twelve apostles (Luke 6:12–16, Douay-Rheims):
And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and he passed the whole night in the prayer of God.
And when day was come, he called unto him his disciples; and he chose twelve of them (whom also he named apostles).
Simon, whom he surnamed Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon who is called Zelotes,
And Jude, the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, who was the traitor.
Simon is called “the Zealot” by St. Luke and “the Cananean” by St. Matthew and St. Mark, from an Aramaic word for zeal; he may once have belonged to the Zealots, a party that resisted Roman rule, or the name may simply describe his zeal for God’s law. Nothing else about him is told in the Gospels.
Jude, called “Jude, the brother of James” in St. Luke’s list (the Greek says “Jude of James”), is called Thaddeus by St. Matthew and St. Mark. At the Last Supper he asked Jesus a question (John 14:22–23, Douay-Rheims):
Judas saith to him, not the Iscariot: Lord, how is it, that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world?
Jesus answered, and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him.
He is traditionally identified with the author of the Letter of Jude, which urges Christians to “contend earnestly for the faith.” To avoid confusion with Judas Iscariot, Christians long neglected to pray to him, and so, according to a popular explanation, he became the patron of “lost causes.” See the St. Jude prayer.
Their martyrdom
Ancient Western tradition holds that, after preaching in different lands, Simon and Jude worked together in Persia and were martyred there; for this reason the Roman Church has kept their feast together since early times. Simon is often shown with a saw, the instrument of his martyrdom according to legend, and Jude with a club or an axe, and with the image of Christ on a medallion. Their relics are venerated in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
The prayer of their feast from the 1916 daily missal:
O God, who hast granted us to come to a knowledge of thy Name through thy blessed Apostles, Simon and Jude, grant us also by advancing in this knowledge to celebrate their everlasting glory and to advance still further by this celebration. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God world without end. Amen.
From the Letter of St. Jude
Jude 1:20–21 (Douay-Rheims):
But you, my beloved, building yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto life everlasting.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude?
October 28.
Why do Simon and Jude share a feast day?
Because, according to tradition, they preached together in Persia and were martyred there together.
Is St. Jude the same as Jude Thaddeus?
Yes. Jude, “brother” or “son” of James, is called Thaddeus in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
More prayers
- St. Jude prayer
- St. Jude novena
- The twelve apostles
- Patron saint of lost causes
- Saint feast days
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- Luke 6:12–16; John 14:22–23; Jude 1:20–21 (Douay-Rheims).
- The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916), Sts. Simon and Jude (October 28), Collect, public domain (archive.org).