‘Apostle of the Impossible’ comes to Houston-area with St. Jude relic tour March 15 - 19

Above, a woman prays in front of at a glass-encased reliquary containing bone from the arm of St. Jude the Apostle at St. Jude Church in New York in 2023. The relic will tour five parishes in the Archdiocese March 15 to March 19. (OSV News photo)

HOUSTON — Galveston-Houston Catholics have the chance to learn about St. Jude, a faithful apostle and martyr known as the patron saint of "impossible causes" as his relic - bone fragments from an arm believed to be his - visit for a tour through the Archdiocese.

An immensely popular saint, it marks the first time the relic has left Italy. The relic will make the following five stops in the Archdiocese, where there will be public veneration and special Masses:

Friday, March 15

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
6646 Addicks Satsuma Road
Houston, Texas 77084
281-463-7878

• Public veneration of St. Jude's relic begins: 2 p.m.
• Special Mass celebrated in St. Jude’s honor: 7 p.m.
• Public veneration ends: 10 p.m.

Saturday, March 16

Epiphany of the Lord
1530 Norwalk Drive
Katy, Texas 77450
281-578-0707

• Special Mass celebrated in St. Jude’s honor: 1 p.m.
• Public veneration of St. Jude's relic begins: 2 p.m.
• Public veneration ends: 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 17

Catholic Charismatic Center
1949 Cullen Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77023
713-236-9977

• Special Mass celebrated in St. Jude’s honor: 3 p.m.
• Public veneration of St. Jude's relic begins: 4 p.m.
• Public veneration ends: 8 p.m.

Monday, March 18

St. Anthony of Padua
7801 Bay Branch Drive
The Woodlands, Texas 77382
281-419-8700

• Public veneration of St. Jude's relic begins: 2 p.m.
• Special Mass celebrated in St. Jude’s honor: 7 p.m.
• Public veneration ends: 10 p.m.

Tuesday, March 19

St. Theresa, Sugar Land
705 St. Theresa Blvd. 
Sugar Land, Texas 77498
281-494-1156

• Public veneration of St. Jude's relic begins: 2 p.m.
• Special Mass celebrated in St. Jude’s honor: 7 p.m.
• Public veneration ends: 10 p.m.

As the church-appointed custodian of the relic, Father Carlos Martins, CC, a priest of the Companions of the Cross religious community, is directing the tour.

“The visit provides an opportunity for individuals to experience intimacy with someone who dwells in Heaven and beholds God face-to-face. It allows devotees to receive his blessing and entrust him with their petitions,” Father Martins said.

According to Treasures of the Church, pilgrims will be able to receive an extraordinary plenary indulgence issued by Pope Francis and published by the Vatican’s apostolic penitentiary. An indulgence is either a partial or full (plenary) full remission of the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven; a plenary indulgence is obtained by a person in the state of grace with the condition he or she must show detachment from sin, go to confession, receive the Eucharist and pray for the intentions of the pope.

Angelo Cardinal Comastri, Archpriest Emeritus of St. Peter’s Basilica, said “I am pleased to accompany with my prayers and blessing the pilgrimage of the relic of Saint Jude the Apostle in the United States of America. May Saint Jude Thaddeus welcome the prayers and invocations addressed to him and obtain abundant graces from God’s Divine Mercy as he always has over the centuries."

St. Jude was a first cousin of Jesus Christ - the son of Mary of Clopas (Cleophas), a relation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Along with St. Bartholomew, he is one of the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The last Jewish bishop of Jerusalem, Judah Kyriakos, was the great-grandson of St. Jude.

Following his martyrdom around AD 65, when St. Jude was killed with an ax, his body was buried in Beirut, where he was slain. According to tradition, the apostle’s remains were transferred to Rome during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine, and his tomb rests directly below the main altar of the left transept of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The arm was separated from St. Jude’s remains several centuries ago and placed in a wooden reliquary carved in the shape of an upright arm in the gesture of imparting a blessing. It bears the seals of Francesco Cardinal Selvaggiani, who was vicar general of Rome from 1931 to 1951.

For more information, including answers to several frequently asked questions, the website.

Video courtesy of the Matt Riedl/Diocese of Lansing. OSV News contributed to this report.