St. Jude church now a national shrine

MANILA, Philippines – St. Jude Thaddeus Church on J.P. Laurel Street in San Miguel, Manila near Malacañang was declared a national shrine yesterday.

Archbishop of Manila Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales concelebrated Mass, where he officially declared the elevation of the shrine to a national level.

Paris priest Fr. Rolando Aquino completed the requirements for St. Jude’s to a national shrine.

“I thank the Lord and the efforts of parishioners for the distinct blessing,” he said. “It’s a dream come true following the first devotion to St. Jude in 1959 by pioneers Fr. Peter Tsao, SVD, and Fr. Peter Yang, SVD.”

Aquino said novenas in the early days drew a few regular groups of devotees. Their numbers swelled as reports abounded of the numerous petitions granted by the so-called “Saint of the Impossible,” he added. St. Jude is also regarded as the patron for the “hopeless.”

Coming from all over Metro Manila and the provinces, devotees fill the church on Thursdays, especially on the first Thursday of the month.