Saint of the day July 25: Santiago Apóstol. Catholic Saints

Every July 25, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint James the Apostle, or Saint James, the Greater – also known as Saint James of Zebedee – one of the twelve apostles chosen by Christ. We can meet him in different facets of his life thanks to the fact that there are several New Testament texts in which he appears mentioned. This James is often called ‘the greater’ to differentiate him from another of Christ’s apostles, ‘James the Lesser’.

The apostle James occupies a special place in the history of the early Church, standing out for his virtue, evangelizing drive and courageous character. It was he who took the Word of God to lands completely far from his native Galilee, as is the case of the Iberian Peninsula. Precisely because of his presence there, sowing faith, Santiago is recognized as Patron Saint of Spain.

The “Son of Thunder” – the nickname that Jesus used with him and his brother Juan, in reference to their father, Zebedee – in addition to being the patron of Spain and the cavalry of that country, he is the patron of tanners, veterinarians and equestrians.

Close to Jesus

James was born in Bethsaida, Galilee, around the year 5 BC. He was one of the first summoned by Jesus, who approached him while he was fishing in Lake Gennesaret with John, his brother (Mk 1, 19).

According to the Gospels, James witnessed, with John and Peter, some of the most intense moments in the life of the Lord Jesus, which shows his closeness to the Son of God. Some of these moments are, for example, the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the miraculous fishing and the night in which Jesus remains praying in Gethsemane, on the eve of his Passion.

Santiago, help us!

The name with which we know it comes from the union of the voices ‘Sant’ y ‘Jacob’. While the particle’Sant‘ is equivalent to ‘san’ or ‘saint’; ‘Jacob‘ is the Hebrew term for ‘Jacob’, which in Greek is said Iakovos, Ἰákobos. Both particles – ‘Sant’ y ‘Jacob’- were juxtaposed from the dawn of Christian Spain in the first centuries, whose warriors rushed into battle shouting “Saint Jacob“Help us!”: the speed with which that war cry was pronounced produced the amalgamated voice Sant-iago. Hence the “Santiago, help us!”

In parallel, his name would also be associated with the war tradition, to the point that much of the iconography represents him as a soldier mounted on a horse, brandishing a spear, in a fighting attitude. Thus, Santiago became an icon or symbol of the fight against evil and personal sin.

It is also possible to find another iconographic tradition where the apostle appears more like a pilgrim, dressed in a simple tunic, covered in a cape and holding a staff or rod. That is the Santiago that goes to the most remote corners ‘of the world’ bringing Christ to all the hearts hungry for Him.

This is how art throughout history has tried to symbolically represent the outstanding aspects of the personality of the disciple of Christ; what Saint John Chrysostom expressed very well when he said of him: “He was the most daring and brave apostle.”

Through Spain to America

The Hispanic world will always be associated, from its roots, with Santiago. The traces that this left on the long path of history are constituents of the soul and culture of the Spanish-speaking peoples.

Although the arrival of the apostle to ancient Hispania (Spain) responded to the first desire to announce the Gospel to all people, said announcement became part of the constituent matrix of Spanish identity.

One of the symbols of this identity contribution is evidently the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, considered the main sanctuary dedicated to the apostle where his remains rest. Today, as in the Middle Ages, thousands of people make pilgrimages to Compostela every year, eager to travel the route of Spain’s patron saint – the Camino de Santiago -. This is what saints, martyrs and missionaries did, many of them later sent to America to evangelize. The New Continent, therefore, abounds in expressions of devotion to the brave apostle.

One of these popular expressions, very important, but sometimes forgotten, has to do with the founding of several cities in America during the periods of the conquest and the viceroyalty. The Spanish, in their founding desire, characteristic of the 16th century, dedicated many places to the saint and named several cities after him. This is the case, for example, of Santiago de Chile, Santiago in the Dominican Republic, or Santiago de Cuba in Cuba.

Santiago de Compostela: a brief note on the Virgin Mary

On November 9, 1982, Saint John Paul II visited the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and called on all of Europe to revive “those authentic values” that constituted it, “because the other continents look at you and also expect the same from you.” response that James gave to Christ: ‘I can do it.'”

Saint John Paul II would add with great eloquence:

“I, Successor of Peter in the See of Rome, a See that Christ wanted to place in Europe and that he loves for its efforts in the spread of Christianity throughout the world. I, Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the Universal Church, from Santiago, send to you, old Europe, a cry full of love: Find yourself again. Be yourself. Discover your origins. Revive your roots.”

According to tradition, the apostle Santiago was the one who prepared the way for the Virgin Mary to be recognized as the “Pillar” or column of the Church, and of the Marian Hispanicity that spread throughout the globe throughout the subsequent centuries. . In times (second half of the 1st century) in which the idea of ​​the apparent failure of the announcement of Christ in the Peninsula was widespread, the Virgin Mary would appear on a column, ‘the Pillar of Zaragoza’, to encourage Santiago and his disciples to Do not falter in the assigned task. And God granted them victory.

Santiago, help us!

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If you want to read more about this saint, we recommend the following article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Santiago_el_Mayor.

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