Denver, CO June 4, 2012: The Dominican friars, Province of St. Albert the Great, invite Catholics and all faith-filled women and men in Colorado and its neighboring states to an historic celebration of the Novena of St. Jude Thaddeus for the first time at historic St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, 3053 West 29th Avenue in Denver from July 18th through July 26. Novenas will begin at 7 pm on weekdays as well at 8:30 am on Saturday and 9:30 am on Sunday. An ancient relic of the Apostle St. Jude Thaddeus will be available for veneration throughout the Novena.
The Novena of St. Jude Thaddeus includes communal recitation of the Rosary, prayers to St. Jude, celebration of the Eucharist, and concludes with a special blessing. The final day of the Novena will feature a Mass of Healing and veneration of the Relic of St. Jude Thaddeus. During the nine day Novena, those in attendance will join others in asking for the intercession of this patron saint of difficult or hopeless cases.
Following each weekday celebration of the Novena and Mass, participants will gather on the grounds of St. Dominic’s for a brief discussion on a range of topics, including “What is a Novena,” “The Power of Prayer,” “Why do Catholics Pray to Saints, “ “Relics and Other Holy Things,” and “Who are the Dominicans.” This part of the gathering will include light refreshments and the opportunity to gather with others who share devotion to this well-known patron saint.
Who Is St. Jude Thaddeus
The Dominican Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus has been a source of prayer, comfort and healing to Catholics and all people of faith around the world since its founding in 1929. Housed at St. Pius V Catholic Church in a family neighborhood amidst the shadows of Chicago’s bustling downtown, the Shrine attracts daily visitors in person and on line. The Dominican Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus is one of the few Churches in the world to have a Relic of St. Jude, the Apostle.
It is uncertain how the devotion to St. Jude as the patron of difficult or hopeless cases began. Confusion between St. Jude and Judas Iscariot may have discouraged devotion to the former for centuries. Although there seems to have been devotion to J in the Middle Ages, it was not until more recent times the devotion became widely popular.
The New Testament provides little information about this close relative of Jesus, apostle, and saint, Jude Thaddeus. Luke’s Gospel includes Jude in the list of the 12 apostles and John’s Gospel mentions him. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark use the name Thaddeus without Jude, perhaps inspiring Catholic scripture scholars to hold Jude and Thaddeus as the same person.
Although post-biblical traditions have described parts of his ministry, no reliable documentation exists to support those details. Among many, one tradition relates that St. Jude traveled throughout Mesopotamia preaching the Good News of God’s love. A letter, the penultimate book of the Bible, is attributed to him. According to another tradition, St. Jude was martyred and his body later placed in a crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Devotion to this Apostle continues today, drawing hundreds five times a year to the traditional Novena of St. Jude Thaddeus at St. Pius V and at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in suburban Chicago. These faith-filled people gather in prayer on behalf of others and for their own needs. Recitation of the Rosary, prayers to St. Jude, celebration of the Eucharist, and a special blessing of the Oil of St. Jude make up the central parts of the nine-day Novena to St. Jude Thaddeus. The last day of the Novena is marked by the exposition of a substantial Relic of St. Jude, said to be the largest relic of an Apostle outside Rome and includes a Mass of Healing.
The Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus is a ministry of the Dominican friars, Province of St. Albert the Great.
History Of The Relic Of St. Jude Thaddeus, Apostle And Patron Saint Of Hopeless Cases
After he was martyred, the body of St. Jude Thaddeus was buried temporarily in Mesopotamia and later given permanent interment in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with the other Apostles. At some point, his forearm was encased in a silver reliquary and located for many centuries in Armenia. At the beginning of the 18th century, Armenian Dominican missionaries fled their country in the face of religious persecution and brought the relic Smyrna, Turkey.
The relic was then given to the Provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Peter Martyr in Turin, Italy. In 1949, the relic was presented to the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great for permanent display and veneration at the Dominican Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus at St. Pius V Church in Chicago, where regular Novenas drew crowds of faithful and had since its founding at the start of the Great Depression. This devotion, once the response to the deep faith of a single Dominican continues today among the thousands who pray for the intercession of St. Jude Thaddeus at the Shrine, on line, on line and during Novenas.
THE DOMINICAN FRIARS, PROVINCE OF ST. ALBERT THE GREAT
Dominican friars ,officially called the Order of Preachers, were founded nearly 800 years ago by St. Dominic. The Order of Preachers is a worldwide communion of men and women dedicated to serving the people of God through Prayer, Study, Service and Community, bound together by a singular devotion to preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.
The provincial headquarters of the Dominican Friars, Province of St. Albert the Great, are located in Chicago, Illinois. Otherwise known as the Central Province, with nearly 200 members, these men minister primarily in the Midwest, but their work extends throughout the world. Ministries span from teaching to parish work to campus ministry, but all entail preaching. These ministries can be found from Albuquerque to Detroit, from St. Louis to Minneapolis, then on to Bolivia, France, Switzerland, Rome, and Nigeria and Kenya.
The mission of this Province and every Dominican is preaching. The Dominican Friars of the Province of Saint Albert the Great communicate the word of God through preaching, theological education and the promotion of justice and peace. This mission in the body of Christ demands a vowed community life, liturgical prayer and life-long study.
ST. DOMINIC’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, DENVER, COLORADO
When the Dominican Friars initially came to Denver before 1889, there was no thought of starting a new parish much less building a new church building. Rather, those early Friars came to Denver for the sunshine and mountain air thought to be a sure cure for various respiratory ailments of the late 19th century. But, when Father J.T. Murphy,O.P. arrived, plans were set in motion and the foundations of what would become St. Dominic Catholic Church were firmly established.
From its earliest days till today, St. Dominic’s has been a neighborhood Church of immigrants. It was the Irish that built the Church’s foundations and the Italians who came quickly behind. In the early 1970s the parish took on a Mexican flavor and with the turn of the 21st century the parish is quickly becoming a reflection of a re-gentrified, urban center neighborhood.
St. Dominic Parish is a Catholic Christian Community set in the Dominican tradition, called to preach and to live the Word of God as a Community of Faith committed to celebrate our diversity, and dedicated to minister to the needs of our parish and beyond.
