Most people have heard of St Anthony, the patron saint of lost things.  It is most weird, but if you cannot find something and you ask St. Anthony it somehow seems to turn up !  My friend introduced me to this, and then, when we went to Prague on holiday, we were interested to see the statues of the saints on Charles Bridge.

  Having no idea at all about any of this we started looking at who they were.  

All the statues on the bridge are in the open except for St Jude who is under a tree.  When we looked him up he is the saint of lost causes and desperate situations.  He was one of the disciples but is overlooked, probably because people get him confused with Judas (?).  Because of this he is the saint of the overlooked, the people in the shadows.  How apt is his position on the Charles bridge ?  He is the saint of those who cannot speak for themselves, children and animals, and the downtrodden.   I am not a person of faith but this appeals to me immensely.  

Anyone who feels they are facing a lost cause or a desperate situation, can appeal to St. Jude.  This is why there are many hospitals and children's help groups in his name.  What a great saint to be !

It would appear that the deal is that if you have requested help and it has been given, you should make your thanks public in some way. This is because he himself is often overlooked.  Traditionally the thanks would have been putting a thank-you note in a church, or some other acknowledgement.  

I tried making a request to St. Jude when a friend was feeling completely overwhelmed by a bad situation - now the situation is resolved I feel I have to keep my side of the bargain - a deal is a deal!  I don't mean to belittle this, especially to anyone out there who has greater faith than me.  When I think of all the good being done in his name I just start smiling, and am genuinely pleased to pass this on for others to take comfort in.

Here is his statue in Prague  

Long may he stand up for the helpless, and those too distraught  to cope