In the cabin in Tapalpa where Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes—alias “El Mencho”—was captured, there was an altar featuring his image; months later, at his gravesite in Zapopan, it appeared once again, nestled among Day of the Dead flowers. In Badiraguato, the birthplace of Sinaloa’s most wanted kingpins, a 28-meter-tall statue of him stands as the municipality’s most visited monument. Saint Jude Thaddeus, the apostle of desperate causes, has become a figure inextricably linked to organized crime in Mexico.
Yet, on this October 28, 2026, his feast day also draws thousands of devotees with no ties whatsoever to the drug trade. From the early hours of the morning, they line up outside the Church of San Hipólito in Mexico City to sing *Las Mañanitas* (traditional birthday/feast-day songs) to him, offering thanks or seeking a miracle.
Jude Thaddeus was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus of Nazareth. His Hebrew name, *Yehuda*, means “praises be given to God,” while “Thaddeus”—derived from Aramaic—translates to “the brave one” or “man of a robust chest.” The Gospels of Matthew and Mark refer to him simply as Thaddeus; the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles identify him as “Jude of James”—a distinction made by biblical authors to differentiate him from Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus.
Catholic tradition places his martyrdom around the year 62 in Suamir, Persia, where he was reportedly killed alongside Simon the Zealot. According to accounts, Jude Thaddeus’s head was crushed with a mace, and his body was severed using an axe or a *shamshir*—a curved saber of Persian origin. Hence, depictions of him show him holding one of these instruments.
The Roman Catholic Church set his feast day for October 28, the date on which the martyrology commemorates the apostles Simon and Jude together. The Hispanic-Mozarabic rite celebrates it on July 1, and the Eastern Churches on June 19.
