Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases

Saint Jude Thaddaeus is invoked as patron of hopeless cases. He is one of the Twelve Apostles, called Jude (or Judas) son of James in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, and Thaddaeus in Matthew and Mark — the double name distinguishing him from Judas Iscariot. At the Last Supper, as recorded in John 14:22, it is this Jude who asks the Lord, “Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” The brief New Testament Letter of Jude, which warns against false teachers and exhorts the faithful to persevere, is traditionally ascribed to him. According to early tradition he preached the Gospel in Mesopotamia and Persia, where he was martyred, and his feast is kept together with Saint Simon on October 28. Because his name so closely resembled that of the traitor, popular devotion was slow to invoke him; he therefore came to be regarded as the patron of desperate and seemingly hopeless cases — the saint to whom one turns when all else has failed. Source: catholic.org patron index.

Saint Rita of Cascia, the Augustinian nun of Cascia (1381–1457) honored in Spain as La Santa de los Imposibles, is venerated together with Saint Jude as a patroness of hopeless and impossible causes, having herself endured a violent marriage, widowhood, the loss of both sons, and long refusal of admission to religious life. Source: catholic.org.