James the Greater, Apostle of Spain (*)
Saint James traveled from Jerusalem through the Greek islands and Sicily to Spain, stopping in Galicia. As he was not well received in that region, he moved on to another; however, he fared no better there. He was taken prisoner and would have been killed had an angel not miraculously delivered him from the hands of his oppressors. He left seven disciples in Spain and moved on to Rome, passing through Marseille in the south of France. Later, he returned to Spain and traveled from Galicia, through Toledo, to Zaragoza. Here, many of the locals were converted; entire neighborhoods acknowledged Christ and cast off their objects of idolatry.
I have seen James in great danger here. Vipers were thrown at him, but the Apostle took them calmly in his hands. They did him no harm. On the contrary, they turned furiously against the priests of the idols, who from then on began to fear and respect him. I later saw how, barely beginning to preach in Granada, he was imprisoned along with all his disciples and converts. James called upon Mary for help—who was then still living in Jerusalem—imploring her to aid him. I saw how, through the ministry of angels, he and his disciples were delivered from prison in a supernatural way. An order from Mary was imparted to him by an angel to go to Galicia to preach the faith there, and then return to his residence in Zaragoza.
The Vision of the Pillar
Later, I saw James in great danger due to a persecution and storm against the faithful of Zaragoza. I saw the Apostle praying at night with some disciples by the river, near the city walls; he asked for light to know whether he should stay or flee. He thought of Mary Most Holy and asked her to pray with him to seek counsel and help from her divine Son Jesus, who could then deny her nothing. Suddenly, I saw a radiance from heaven come upon the Apostle, and angels appeared above him, singing a very harmonious song while carrying a pillar of light. Its base, in the midst of a luminous ray, pointed to a spot a few steps from the Apostle, as if indicating a specific site.
The pillar was quite tall and slender, of a reddish glow with streaks of various colors, and ended at the top like an open lily that cast tongues of fire in several directions; one went West, toward Compostela; the others in various directions. In the radiance of the lily, I saw Mary Most Holy, of snowy whiteness and transparency, of greater beauty and delicacy than the whiteness of fine silk. She was standing, resplendent with light, in the manner she used to be in prayer while still living on earth. Her hands were joined, and a long veil was over her head, most of which hung down to her feet as if she were wrapped in it. She rested her small, delicate feet upon the flower that shone with its five tongues. The whole scene appeared wonderfully delicate and beautiful.
I saw that James rose from where he was praying on his knees; he received an internal notice from Mary that he should immediately erect a church there; that Mary’s intercession should grow like a root and expand. Mary told him that, once the church was finished, he should return to Jerusalem. James arose and called the disciples who accompanied him, who had heard the music and seen the radiance; he told them the rest, and they all then witnessed how the glow of the apparition faded away. After James carried out in Zaragoza what Mary had ordered, he formed a group of twelve disciples, among whom I saw men of science. These were to continue the work he had begun with such fatigue and contradiction.
Martyrdom in Jerusalem
James departed from Spain to travel to Jerusalem, as Mary had commanded. On this journey, he visited Mary in Ephesus. Mary predicted the proximity of his death in Jerusalem and consoled and comforted him greatly. James said goodbye to Mary and his brother John and headed to Jerusalem, where shortly after he was beheaded.
James was taken to Mount Calvary, outside the city, preaching along the way and converting many listeners. When they bound his hands, he said: “You may bind my hands, but not my blessing or my tongue.” A cripple by the roadside cried out to the Apostle to give him his hand and heal him. The Apostle replied: “Come toward me and give me your hand.” The cripple went toward James, took the Apostle's bound hands, and found himself healed. I saw his betrayer, named Josias, run toward him and ask for forgiveness. This man confessed Christ and was killed for his faith. James asked him if he wanted to be baptized, and having answered yes, the Apostle embraced and kissed him, saying: “You shall be baptized in your own blood.” I saw a woman approach James with her blind son and obtain health for her son from him.
First, James was shown with Josias in an elevated place: there, their guilt and sentence were read aloud. Afterward, I saw him sitting on a stone, to the sides of which his hands were tied. They blindfolded him and cut off his head. Meanwhile, they had locked James the Less in his own house. At that time, Matthew, Nathanael Chased, and Nathanael the bridegroom (of Cana) were in Jerusalem. Matthew lived in Bethany. Lazarus's house had long been intended for the use of the disciples, as were his possessions in Judea. The city castle had been occupied by the Jews. After the Apostle's death, a great tumult broke out in the city, and many were converted to the faith of Christ.
The Return to Spain
The body of James remained for a time in the vicinity of Jerusalem. When a new persecution broke out, some disciples, including Joseph of Arimathea and Saturninus, took it to Spain. But Queen Lupa, who had persecuted James, did not allow him to be buried. The disciples placed him upon a stone, which sank and hollowed out, forming a sepulcher. Another marvel occurred there: some bodies buried there were cast out of their places.
Due to Lupa’s snares, the disciples were imprisoned by the king; miraculously freed from jail, they were pursued by the king and his knights while fleeing. The bridge broke as they crossed, and the king and his people perished. Terrified, Queen Lupa ordered the Christian disciples to go to the desert and take wild bulls to hitch to a cart: wherever these animals led the body of James, there they could build a church for him. She thought that in this way, the fierce animals would destroy everything in their wildness. Upon entering the desert, the disciples encountered a dragon, which burst in half by their blessing. The fierce bulls, however, allowed themselves to be yoked calmly and carried the sacred body into the interior of Lupa's own castle. Thus it happened that James was buried in the castle, as Lupa converted to Christianity with her people. The castle became a church.
Many miracles were wrought at this tomb. Later, his body was taken to Compostela, which became one of the most famous places of pilgrimage. The Apostle James worked in Spain for nearly four years.
(*) That James went to Spain to preach is affirmed by Saint Antoninus; Saint Isidore, in the book Vita et morte Sanctorum; Braulio, Archbishop of Zaragoza (651); Julian, Archbishop of Toledo; Popes Callixtus II, Pius V, Sixtus V, and the Venerable Bede. The historian Gretscher affirms that it is an ancient tradition of all the churches of Spain.