St James the Great


“Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1:2-4


Feast Day: 25th July 


Famously one of the ”Sons of Thunder” along with St John the Evangelist, St James is styled "the Great" or “the Greater” to distinguish him from James "the Less". (In this case, "greater" simply meaning older or taller).


St James was one of the first disciples to join Jesus and also the first Apostle to be martyred. Like Peter, tradition states that James was a fisherman by trade and was Jesus’ half-brother. Along with John and Peter, James forms the final pillar of the informal triumvirate of Jesus’ closest disciples, being present, for instance, at the raising of Jairus' daughter, the Transfiguration and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.


The scallop shell represents St James, as well as the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage route to his burial site in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It is also a reference to James’ previous calling as a fisherman.