Sacred arm of St. Jude to make 3 stops at Columbus-area Catholic churches

The arm of St. Jude Thaddeus, a sacred relic of the Roman Catholic Church, is coming to three Columbus-area churches as part of a 100-stop pilgrimage in the United States.

One of the 12 apostles of Jesus, Jude is the patron saint of hopeless causes and nicknamed “The Apostle of the Impossible.” St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis is among the many landmarks named for him.

The relic, which the Vatican says is an actual bone fragment from the martyred saint's arm, will begin its journey through the area on Oct. 30 at St. Paul the Apostle Church, 313 N. State St., Westerville, then visit the St. Thomas More Newman Center at Ohio State University, 64 W. Lane Ave. on Oct. 31, ending at Church of the Resurrection, 6300 E. Dublin-Granville Road, New Albany, on Nov. 1.

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At each of the three stops, a public veneration of the relic will begin at 1 p.m., followed by a special Mass celebrated in St. Jude's honor at 7 p.m. After Mass, veneration will continue until 10 p.m.

The U.S. tour began in Chicago on Sept. 9. After leaving the Columbus area, the relic will travel to Akron, then to Pennsylvania and several East Coast states. The nine-month tour is scheduled to conclude in May.

Relic kept in unusual vessel

Centuries ago, the bone fragment was separated from the rest of Jude’s remains and placed in a wooden reliquary carved in the shape of an upright arm imparting a blessing.

A reliquary is a container for a holy relic. Relics are physical objects that have a direct connection to saints.

First-class relics typically are portions of a saint’s body such as bones, flesh, hair, nails or other parts. Second-class relics are something that a saint owned, such as clothing or a book — or fragments of such objects. Third-class relics are items that a saint touched.

Relics like the arm of St. Jude might seem macabre to the uninitiated, but they are held sacred among Catholics.

Who was St. Jude?

According to “The Apostle of the Impossible” official tour guide: “Saint Jude is the one to whom people turn when they are desperate and have tried everything else. When things seem lost or unbearable — when they seem hopeless — Saint Jude is the one to whom people often turn.”

St. Jude Thaddeus is believed to be a first cousin of Jesus. In the early church, St. Jude was occasionally confused with Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, since their names are the same in Greek and Latin. He is also called Thaddeus in the Scriptures (Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18).

The Gospel of John contains the only sentence that St. Jude Thaddeus says in the Bible: “Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’” (John 14:22).

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According to tradition, St. Jude was buried in Beirut following his martyrdom. His body later was moved to Rome and placed in a crypt at the original St. Peter’s Basilica, completed in 333 A.D. Today, his remains are in the current basilica, completed in 1626, below the main altar of St. Joseph.

The reliquary containing St. Jude’s arm was last opened during the time of Cardinal Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani, who served as vicar general for the Archdiocese of Rome from 1931-1951. The cardinal’s seals enclose the container, ensuring the relic’s authenticity.

For more information about St. Jude and relics, visit apostleoftheimpossible.com.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

Belinda M. Paschal contributed to this story. bpaschal@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sacred relic St. Jude's arm coming to three Columbus Catholic churches