St. James the Greater

Brother of John and son of Zebedee, James was one of the inner three apostles who witnessed the Transfiguration and the agony in Gethsemane. He was the first apostle to be martyred, beheaded by Herod Agrippa around A.D. 44. Tradition associates him with the evangelization of Spain, and his shrine at Santiago de Compostela has been one of Christendom's greatest pilgrim destinations for over a thousand years.

Jesus nicknamed him and his brother Boanerges — "sons of thunder" — for their fiery temperament, and James once asked for the seat at Christ's right hand in glory. Christ answered with a question: "Can you drink the cup that I drink?" James said he could, and he was the first of the Twelve to prove it with his blood.

The Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrim route to his shrine in Galicia, has drawn millions across the centuries — kings and peasants, penitents and seekers. His emblem is the scallop shell, and his feast on July 25 remains a holy day of obligation in Spain, where he is honored as the nation's patron saint.