St. James the Greater

St. James the Greater was a Galilean fisherman, son of Zebedee and brother of St. John the Evangelist, called by Jesus while mending nets by the Sea of Galilee. With Peter and John he formed the inner circle of the apostles, present at the raising of Jairus's daughter, the Transfiguration, and the Agony in the Garden. Jesus named the two brothers "Boanerges," sons of thunder, for their fervent zeal.

He holds the distinction of being the first of the apostles to give his life for Christ: as the Acts of the Apostles records, King Herod Agrippa I had him put to the sword in Jerusalem about the year 44. A strong tradition holds that his relics were carried to Spain, where the great shrine of Santiago de Compostela grew up over his tomb and became, in the Middle Ages, one of the three foremost pilgrimages of Christendom, drawing pilgrims still. Called "the Greater" to distinguish him from the other apostle James, he is celebrated on 25 July.