Large Crowds Converge at St. George to Venerate Relic of the “Apostle of the Impossible”

March 22, 2024

More than 1,000 people visited St. George Church in Baton Rouge on March 13 during a historic tour of a relic of St. Jude the Apostle in the United States. Visitors expressed their own personal connection with St. Jude during their time before the relic.
Some shed comingled tears of desperation and hope that St. Jude would intercede for a miracle, others smiled in gratitude for prayers answered, and still others touched the reliquary with a conveyed sense of peace that their needs were understood.

St. Jude Thaddeus is one of the original twelve apostles of Christ, and some Catholic traditions identify him as a cousin of Jesus (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3). After Jesus’ ascension, traditions hold that St. Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Libya, and suffered martyrdom in 65 A.D. while preaching near modern-day Beirut, Lebanon. He is often depicted in art with another apostle, St. Simon the Zealot, with whom he is believed to have been killed.

The saint's arm was separated from the greater portion of his remains several centuries ago and placed in a simple wooden reliquary carved in the shape of an upright arm to impart a blessing.

“This is the first time the major relic of Saint Jude has left Italy since being brought to Italy in 335 by Constantine,” said Father Carlos Martins, an ecclesiastically appointed curate of relics and director of Treasures of the Church, a Catholic evangelization ministry. “When I was commissioned (to oversee this tour of the relic), I wanted to give as many people as possible in the country an opportunity to experience this. My goal is to hit most of the states in the country.”

The relic is on a pilgrimage through 100 cities in the United States. Father Martins noted that while planning for the tour he anticipated stops in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette.

“St. George sent me an email with a request to host the relic at just the right time,” he said, and all indicators were there that the parish could accommodate the large number of people who stopped in to visit the saint whom they have ties with.

“People come with a devotion,” said Father Martins. “St. Jude is a hero to many, and this affords them an opportunity that they’ve never had before to have this kind of intimacy with the remains of one of their heroes. “But it is not just the remains of one of their heroes. We speak to the dead as if they are there. We walk to the cemetery and speak to our (loved one) whose remains are in the ground, but there’s an innate awareness that they hear us, that our words reach them. There’s an awareness that God implants within us that the dead are never so far away that they cannot hear us.”

St. Jude, or any saint, is just as present in their relic as they are in heaven beholding God face to face, emphasized Father Martins. “When we cross over to the next life, space ceases to hinder anything. Lots of people need healing and there are many miracles, many healings – such as cancers, osteoporosis, stroke affects.”

Visitors confirmed that they presented their intentions with expectations of being heard.

Garland and Sharon Poche, members of St. Joseph Church in Paulina, were thrilled that the St. Jude relic tour stopped in Baton Rouge and were among the many who brought holy cards of St. Jude and other items to press against the relic.

“As the patron of last resort, our prayers can get to him. There is a reason that God chose him for that role in life, and I respect that,” said Sharon Poche.

Shirley Dauzat and her granddaughter, Katy Butler, members of St. George Church in Baton Rouge, came to pray for Katy’s son, Elliot, 1, who is suffering from infectious meningitis that resulted in brain damage. Also with them was Elliot’s proud big brother Rhett.

“We’re praying for Elliot’s quality of life,” said Dauzat.

Irene Kotval, a member of Most Blessed Church in Baton Rouge, grew up in New Orleans and was a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, which is also the location of the International Shrine of St. Jude.

“St. Jude has always been a wonderful part of my life,” said Kotval, who was there to present prayer petitions for several friends who have cancer, and particularly a young woman living in Alabama who is about 4 ½ months pregnant and is bed ridden with cancer “all over her body.”

“I’m praying that her baby is healthy, and her family is comforted, because I don’t think she’s going to make it,” said Kotval, expressing hope that St. Jude will intercede for the mother and child.

Ruth Hanson, a member of St. John the Evangelist Church in Prairieville, began her devotion to St. Jude when her second child, Bethe Hanson Decoteau, was born in New Orleans with a congenital heart defect.

“My mother-in-law Gracie Hanson had a devotion to St. Jude. She had face cancer and was cured," said Hanson.

She noted that with St. Jude’s help, Bethe, also known as “No Stress Bethe,” is doing well.

“St. Jude is the apostle of the impossible. My daughter couldn’t walk across the room without sitting down to catch her breath. Now she lives in Mississippi, owns a herd of cattle and (when younger) she team-pinned and played handball with the boys. Yes, we had a miracle,” said Hanson with a grin.