Who is James the Greater?
James the Greater was the brother of John the Evangelist, the beloved apostle. They were the sons of Zebedee and Salome. Together as brothers, they made an awesome team. Our Lord even referred to them together as “”Sons of Thunder.” Professionally, James and John were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, just like their father.
James and John were together when Jesus called them and their friends Simon and Andrew, to be “fishers of men.”
Why is James the Greater important?
Among the 12 apostles, James holds a special place and is mentioned several times in the scriptures.
- He was there when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead.
- He was present at the transfiguration.
- James was also during all the events of Holy Week.
- The mother of James and John asked for a special place for her sons in Mathew 20:20.
Matthew Chapter 20
Then the mother* of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.21He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”22Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking.* Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.”
As it turns out, they both did.
What happened to St. James the Greater?
Legend has it that after the Ascension of Jesus, James traveled to preach in Spain.
On return to the Holy Land, he was martyred. (Acts 12:1). King Herod Agrippa I killed him with a sword in an early persecution of the Church.
There is a story about the man who arrested James. He heard the saint speak at his trial and the officer himself became a convert. They were executed together. 
Legend has it that after his death, Christians put the remains of St. James on a rudderless ship that landed in Spain. Those traveling with the remains were imprisoned by the local regent, Celtic Queen Lupa. She later relented and agreed to give them an ox and a cart to carry the saint’s remains to a burial place. But the oxen she gave then were untamed and wild. To her astonishment, when they were yoked to the cart with the saint, they were gentle and easy to manage. Witnessing this miracle, Queen Lupa converted! The Christians determined that they would lay the saint wherever the ox stopped to rest. And that is how St. James came to be buried where the Cathedral of Santiago stands today! (Iago is his name in Spanish).
Does James the Greater have a symbol?
So how did the scallop shell become a symbol of St. James? I’ve read it two ways -The scallop shell is very prevalent on the shores of Palestine, so pilgrims would take these shells home and display them on their hats to show that they had made a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. St. James will frequently be portrayed as a pilgrim with staff and with a scalloped shell.
It also seems that when the body of St. James was nearing the shore of the Iberian Peninsula, a man on a horse went out into the water to meet it and went under the water. When the man and horse came up, they were covered with shells!
The way to the grave of St. James is called Camino de Santiago or Way of St. James. All of the lines on the shell supposedly lead to the grave of St. James, but that is open to interpretation.
Father Lawrence Lew, OP via Flickr, licensed cc – St. James as a child – note the sea shell included in this piece!
For More information
St. James the Greater
A Little about St. James
The Shell
Follow the Camino
Arts and Crafts
This is the day to try oysters on the half-shell! or maybe stuffed shells for dinner! or try some fun shell crafts!
This is our Pentecost bowl filled with seashells on the Feast of St. James
