While the usual practice is to celebrate a saint’s birth into glory (the day of death), believed to be March 25th, the Church celebrates the feast of St. James the Greater on July 25th. During the Middle Ages Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (NW Spain) had become a pilgrimage site for all of Europe, as it was here that the relics of the Apostle are kept, and it was on July 25th that they were brought out for veneration. By the 10th century, this date was the one adopted in Rome, as well.  St. James  was a fisherman who, with his brother John, worked in their father Zebedee’s business. Together they were among the first disciples of Jesus (Mt. 4:21-22). This James is distinguished from the Apostle James the Lesser, or Less, either due to his taller stature or his greater age. James the Greater is also one of the three Apostles who with Peter and John were invited by the Lord to come apart with Him on at least three occasions––the raising from the dead of Jairus’ daughter (Mk. 5:33ff; Lk. 8:49ff), the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor (Mt. 17:1; Mk. 9:2ff; Luke 9:28ff) and in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper (Mt. 26:33ff; Mk. 14:32ff).   While we know little information regarding the early life of St. James, he was the brother of John, the beloved disciple, and probably the elder of the two. His parents seem to have been people of means as appears from the following facts. Zebedee was a fisherman of the Sea of Galilee, who probably lived in or near Bethsaida (John 1:44), perhaps in Capharnaum, which was on the lake; and had some boatmen or hired men as his usual attendants (Mark, 1, 20).  Read More James is the Greek form of the name of the Patriarch Jacob, in Hebrew Ya’aqob, and in Latin Iacob or Iacobus. In Spanish the saint’s name has been rendered as Santiago, a name given to the Shrine in Galicia possessing his relics, and a given name for boys. Read More