July 25 - James of Zebedee, or James the Greater, one of the Twelve, brother of the apostle John, is mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels. The two brothers are like fishermen on Lake Tiberias who leave their boat to follow Jesus. He is called Major to differentiate him from James of Alpheus, another of the Twelve.

Together with Peter and his brother Andrew, James is therefore one of the very first disciples of Jesus, and one of his closest. The synoptic tradition makes him one of the three principal apostles since he is chosen, with Peter and John, as a witness to crucial events such as the resurrection of the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, the Transfiguration or the prayer of Jesus on the Mount of Olives. According to a legend, James left with some of his disciples for Spain for four years, and more particularly for the city of Gades (now Cadiz), where the work of evangelization encountered many obstacles and difficulties. He succeeded in converting only nine disciples.

After a six-month journey to Rome, where he was briefly imprisoned, he returned to Gades. There the number of disciples had increased significantly as a result of immigration. James continued his apostolate in Cæsaraugusta (present-day Zaragoza), where he obtained massive conversions. He continued his evangelization through Galicia on his way to Compostela. Following a new persecution in Jerusalem, James returned to that city with seven disciples to support the community of believers. It was on this occasion that he confronted and converted the magician Hermogenes. His death is recorded in the New Testament: "He (Herod) killed James, the brother of John, with the sword" (Acts 12:2), when Peter was arrested in an unknown place in Palestine and his execution provoked a popular uprising. The bones of James were brought to Spain where his tomb in Santiago de Compostela is one of the most famous places of pilgrimage.