St. Jude Thaddeus by El Greco

El Greco (1541–1614) was a painter, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" (The Greek) was a nickname, a reference to his Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος (Doménikos Theotokópoulos).

St. Jude Thaddeus by Georges de La Tour

It is important to see how art is applied to religious or historical icons. The perspectives of artists tells us much about how these figures are viewed in and over time. Last week, I presented a painting of St. Jude by Sir Anthony van Dyck, a Flemish Baroque artist.

This week, I present a painting of the saint by Georges de La Tour (1593–1652), a painter who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine, which became part of France the year before his death. He painted mostly religious scenes lit by candlelight, and after centuries of posthumous obscurity became one of the most highly regarded of French 17th century artists in the 20th century.

St. Jude (Thaddeus) by Anthony van Dyck

Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of King Charles I of England and Scotland and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next 150 years. He also painted biblical and mythological subjects, displayed outstanding facility as a draftsman, and was an important innovator in watercolor and etching.

The School of St. Jude

When I began this blog, my primary goal was to provide devotees of St. Jude a venue to publish their messages of thanks. Simple enough. Technology has advanced sufficiently and become suitably clear to provide many of us the means to help others. With each posting, I soon realized one could do so much more to strengthen the faith and resolve of those who seek the solace of St. Jude.

We turn to the saint when we encounter difficult, challenging, hopeless situations we feel, deep down inside, are impossible, overwhelming, unsolvable. Sometimes, we despair. But, if we look around, we see many, many examples of faith, hope, strength and endurance. In our darkest hours, let these examples be our guiding lights.

So, I decided to profile some of these lights (that I could trace back to St. Jude) and bring them to you. There are many out there. I/we just have to look for them. God bless.

From the website (About Us: Who Are We?) of The School of St. Jude in Arusha, Tanzania (East Africa): "The School of St. Jude is a sponsorship-supported English Medium School in Tanzania that primarily serves orphaned and vulnerable children from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds. The school blends the best of Western and Tanzanian instructional methods to instill critical thinking and high moral Christian values in students who will later become the leaders and builders of Tanzania."

The founder of the school is Gemma Sisia. From ABC Brisbane (Australia): "Gemma Sisia is a woman with an outrageous amount of energy. With $10 in her bank account, the former Guyra farm girl set up a school in Tanzania for poor but bright African children. Gemma found sponsors and supporters in Australia, and literally helped build the school - brick by brick - on an idyllic piece of land at the foot of Mount Meru in Tanzania. She named the school 'St Jude's' after the patron saint of lost causes - but in fact the school is a huge success, bringing a decent modern education to 890 kids who would otherwise be doing manual labour. She's written about her amazing experiences in her book called, simply, St Jude's."

Gemma's book, St. Jude's, from TheNile.com.au, "...is the remarkable story of an Australian girl from the bush who's busy transforming the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of African children. Her name is Gemma Sisia, and she runs a school in Tanzania called The School of St Jude.

Gemma's idea is simple. Her school is for the very poorest kids, the ones whose families can't afford the clothes or books or even pencils to send their children to the supposedly "free" government schools. These are the children of illiterate parents, whose destiny is to remain trapped in a cycle of poor education, illiteracy and poverty. Her slogan is "fighting poverty through education".

Gemma started St Jude's (named after the patron saint of hopeless causes) in 2002 with an 18-year-old volunteer teacher from Sydney, three kids and her own boundless energy. From those humble beginnings, the school now has over 850 students, and one of the best academic records in the country. There are plans for a second campus, and a long term aim of reproducing the hugely successful formula across Tanzania and East Africa. St Jude's is an astonishing success for kids who would otherwise have no hope and no future. This is a truly amazing story about how the determination of one person can help change the world."

This blog receives no commission from a purchase of the book through the previous link.

February Messages of Thanks

Publish your messages of thanks (and special intentions) to St. Jude for February here.