On Feb. 4, 1962, St.ﾠ Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened it’s doors in front of a crowd of 9,000 people. This was the day that Danny Thomas had dreamed of. The day when he would finally fulfill a promise made 20 years prior to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes.

The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of their founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.

That shrine became St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the first hospital built for the sole purpose of conducting basic and clinical research and developing treatments for childhood cancer, sickle cell disease and other catastrophic illnesses.