or James the Great
born Galilee, Palestine
died AD 44, Jerusalem; feast day July 25
One of the 12 Apostle s of Jesus .
He and his brother John (see St. John the Apostle ) were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee and were among the first disciples to be called. As a member of the inner circle of disciples, he witnessed the major events in the ministry of Jesus, including the Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane . He was beheaded in AD 44 by order of Herod Agrippa. By tradition, his body was taken to Santiago de Compostela , Spain; his shrine there has long been a place of pilgrimage.