By T.K. Wilson … There is very little recorded of the personal life of St. Jude Thaddeus in the Bible. What we do know is that he was the brother or cousin of Our Lord; the son of Mary, wife of Cleopas; and brother of James the Lesser, bishop of Jerusalem. He was often confused with Judas Iscariot (technically his name is Judas) so the writers and the apostle himself call him Jude or Thaddeus, which means “courageous heart” or “friend of God”.