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St. Jude is often shown depicted with a flame around his head—this represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest—this idea comes from a Biblical story in which King Abgar of Edessa (a city located in what is now southeast Turkey) asked Jesus to cure him of leprosy. In his place, King Abgar sent an artist to Jesus. The artist was commissioned to sketch a likeness of Jesus to bring back to Abgar. Impressed with Abgar's great faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to St. Jude to take to Abgar. Upon seeing Jesus' image, The King was cured and he converted to Christianity along with most of the people under his rule. This cloth is believed to be the famous Shroud of Jesus, currently on display in Turin, Italy. Symbols of an anchor, oar, boat, ship, boat-hook, and carpenter's rule associated with St. Jude seem to be references to voyages made for Christ, spreading hope, and perhaps to St. Jude's profession as a fisherman/boat repairer. It is also possible that the carpenter's rule is a reference to St. Jude's being a blood relative of the carpenters St. Joseph and Jesus Christ. Whatever the origin of these symbols, for many, they now bring to mind St. Jude and his powerful intercession before Christ for us. The symbol of the anchor is particularly apt since the anchor is also the symbol for the theological virtue of hope. St. Jude seems to have been given the special privilege of helping those who are most in need. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Saint Jude, the brother of James the Less and a cousin of Christ, traveled throughout Mesopotamia for a period of ten years preaching and converting many to Christianity. He died a martyr's death. As tradition tells us, he was clubbed to death and his head was then shattered with a broad ax. Sometime after his death, St. Jude's body was brought to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica.

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