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Saint James


There is no evidence in the Bible that Saint James ever visited Spain in his ministry or that his body was taken there after his death but what does the Bible say about him?

 

James was one of the 12 Apostles and was the first to be martyred in 44AD when Herod Agrippa had him executed by the sword.

 

 James was the son of Zebedee (a fisherman) and Salome (one of the women who followed Jesus and ‘ministered unto him their substance’) and was the brother of John (and it has been suggested that James was the elder).

 

Matthew 4:21-22 and Mk1:19-20 tell us that James and John were with their father by the seashore when they were called to follow Jesus and James was one of the three Apostles Jesus selected to witness his Transfiguration.

 

James and John were known as Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’ (Mark 3:17) because of their fiery tempers.
Saint Jamestown in Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

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