Sts. Jude and Francis Xavier Community

St. JUDE (or Judas) is a Christian saint.  He should not be confused with Judas Iscariot, another apostle and later the betrayer of Jesus.

The American Apostolic Church honours Saint Jude, along with Saint Bartholomew as their patron saint.  In the Roman Catholic Church he is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes.

Saint Jude’s attribute is a club.  He is also often shown in icons with a flame around his head.  This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.  Occasionally he is represented holding an axe or halberd, as he was brought to death by one of these weapons.  In some instances he may be shown with a scroll or a book (the Epistle of Jude) or holding a carpenter’s rule.

The feast of our patron is being on 28^th October.  St. Jude is a saint of hopeless or desperate cases.  People never knew about St. Jude.  Thus by naming he community by his name a family came forward and offered the statue of this saint.  Some sponsored booklets regarding the life history, novena  and hymns of St. Jude.

St. FRANCIS XAVIER was born in Spain at the Xavier castle on 8th April 1506.  He was affectionately called "JASSU".  After completion of preparatory studies in Spain, he joined th world renowned University of Paris.  The ambitious plans of his dreams to shine in the world over as one of the most intellectual luminaries were thwarted by the famous words of Jesus "what does it profit a man to gain the whole world if he looses his own soul?" repeatedly sounded into his ears by Ignatius de Loyola, one in all his room-mate, his friend, his disciple.

Once Francis Xavier was ordained as a priest along with Ignatius de Loyola and four others, they together formed a Society of Jesus.  They served Jesus in poverty and chastity.  They preached and nursed the sick in the city.  From Rome, through Lisbon, at the request of king of Portugal, D, Joao III, chosen to go to remote East.