 | St. James (Celebrated July 25th)
James, son of Zebedee and the older brother of John the Evangelist, is cited several times in the Bible. His name in Hebrew is Yeagob, and means "Yahweh will reward". In Latin it became Jacobo or Jacob, where James was derived, and in Spanish Jacobo became Yago where Sant Yago later became one word, Santiago. Jesus called him "Son of Thunder" which makes us think he was temperamental. It is said that he witnessed the Transfiguration in Tabor with John and Peter and he was also present in Gethsemane. He predicated in Spain and Judea but returned to Jerusalem because of poor success. He was one of the first apostles to suffer the martyrdom of decapitation by order of Herod Agrippa in 42 AD. Legend has it that his disciples carried his body in a boat and buried him in Galicia. His tomb was found under miraculous circumstance and this became Santiago de Compostela, the Spanish city known for it’s pilgrimages. St James is also believed to have appeared during the Reconquista of Spain at the battle of Calvijo in 844 AD to help the Spaniards defeat the Moors. From this legend comes his being known as Santiago Matamoros. In art he is usually depicted as a pilgrim with a walking stick, gourd, hat, book and/or a seashell as his symbols. He can also be shown mounting a horse with a sword in hand in his depiction as the image of Santiago Matamoros. He is the patron saint of hat makers, pharmaceuticals, drugs, apothecaries and pilgrims. He is a patron Saint in Spain and Guatemala. He is said to be the saint to call upon for arthritis and good weather. |