Sister Jude runs Briarcliff with an iron fist and closet full of whips, which she uses to punish the patients. She purports to be interested in helping them through the grace of God, but hers is a vengeful one that she feels gives her the right to mete out her own justice. Calls mental illness a fashionable explanation for sin .The slinky red negligee she wears under her nun's habit and her less-than-pure glances at Monsignor Howard are hints of her former life. She is Monsignor Howard's right hand at Briarcliff, and she aspires to move up the church hierarchy with him, displaying aspirations of power that belie her gender, place in the church and the time period.She has no patience for the patients she is charged with overseeing, and believes they must be kept in line at all times. She bristles at Dr. Thredson questioning her operation of the asylum. Appears ruthless at times, but can display flashes of compassion or concern, as when she grows suspicious of Dr. Arden. But as Lana Winters finds out, Jude is quick to punish anyone who crosses her.She plays the infernal French song Dominique , by the Singing Nun, on an endless loop in the day room so as not to over-stimulate her charges.Background: Recovering alcoholic. She became a nun late in life, seeking redemption from a traumatic event that haunts her and a life that was the opposite of the cloistered one she lives now. Talented singer.