From Jerusalem, James traveled through the Greek islands and Sicily to Spain, stopping in Galicia. As he was not well received in this region, he went to another. However, he fared no better in this place. He was taken prisoner and would have been killed had an angel not miraculously freed him from the hands of his oppressors. He left seven disciples in Spain and traveled, passing through Marseille in the south of France, to Rome. Later, he returned to Spain and went from Galicia, through Toledo, to Zaragoza. Here, many of the locals were converted; entire neighborhoods recognized Christ and stripped themselves of their idols. I have seen James here in great danger. Vipers were thrown at him, but the apostle calmly took them into 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, having barely begun to preach in Granada, he was imprisoned along with all his disciples and converts. James called upon Mary, who was still living in Jerusalem at the time, begging her to help him, and I saw how, through the ministry of angels, he and his disciples were freed from prison in a supernatural manner. He was given the command from Mary, by means of an angel, to go to Galicia to preach the faith there, and then return to his residence in Zaragoza.
Later, I saw James in great danger because of 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 was asking for light to know whether he should stay or flee. He thought of Most Holy Mary and asked her to pray with him to seek counsel and help from her divine Son Jesus, who could deny her nothing at that moment. Suddenly, I saw a radiance come down from heaven upon the apostle, and angels appeared above him, singing a very harmonious song while bringing a column of light, the foot of which—in the midst of a luminous ray—pointed to a place a few steps from the apostle, as if indicating a specific site.
The column was quite tall and slender, of a reddish glow with streaks of various colors, and ended at the top like an open lily that threw out tongues of fire in several directions; one of them went to the West, toward Compostela; the others, in various directions. In the radiance of the lily, I saw Most Holy Mary, 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 when she still lived on earth. Her hands were joined, and a long veil covered her head, most of which hung down to her feet as if she were wrapped in it. She placed her small, fine feet upon the flower that shone with its five tongues. The whole scene appeared wonderfully delicate and beautiful.
I saw that James arose from the place where he had been praying on his knees; he received an interior message from Mary that he should immediately erect a church there, and that Mary's intercession should grow like a root and expand. Mary told him that, once the church was completed, he should return to Jerusalem. James stood up and called the disciples who accompanied him, who had heard the music and seen the glow; he told them the rest, and they all then witnessed how the glow of the apparition gradually faded away. After James performed in Zaragoza what Mary had commanded him, he formed a group of twelve disciples, among whom I saw men of science. These men were to continue the work he had begun with so much toil and contradiction.
James departed from Spain to travel to Jerusalem, as Mary had commanded him. On this journey, he visited Mary in Ephesus. Mary foretold the nearness of his death in Jerusalem, and she consoled and comforted him greatly. James said goodbye to Mary and his brother John, and set out for Jerusalem, where shortly thereafter 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 can bind my hands, but not my blessing and my tongue." A cripple who was by the roadside cried out to the apostle to give him his hand and heal him. The apostle answered him: "Come toward me and give me your hand." The cripple went to James, took the bound hands of the apostle, 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 will be baptized in your own blood." I saw a woman approach James with her blind son and obtain healing for her son through him.
First, James was shown with Josias in an elevated place; there, their guilt and sentence were read aloud to them. Afterward, I saw him seated on a stone, to the sides of which his hands were bound. They blindfolded him and cut off his head. Meanwhile, they had locked James the Less in his own house. Present in Jerusalem at the time were: Matthew, Nathanael Chased, and Nathanael the bridegroom (of Cana). Matthew lived in Bethany. The house of Lazarus had long been set aside for the use of the disciples, as were his possessions in Judea. The city castle had been occupied by the Jews. After the death of the apostle, a great tumult broke out in the city, and many were converted to the faith of Christ.
The body of James stayed for a time in the vicinity of Jerusalem. When a new persecution broke out, some disciples, including Joseph of Arimathea and Saturninus, brought it to Spain. But Queen Lupa, who had persecuted James, did not allow him to be buried. The disciples placed him on a stone, which sank and hollowed out to form a tomb. Another wonder happened there: some bodies buried there were thrown from their places. Through Lupa's wiles, the disciples were imprisoned by the king; miraculously freed from prison, as they fled, they were pursued by the king and his knights. The bridge broke as they crossed, and the king and his men perished. Terrified, Queen Lupa ordered the Christian disciples to go to the desert and take wild bulls to yoke them to the cart; wherever these animals led the body of James, there they could build a church for him. She thought that in this way, the wild beasts would destroy everything in their rampage. Upon entering the desert, the disciples encountered a dragon, which, by their blessing, burst in half. The wild bulls, on the other hand, allowed themselves to be yoked calmly and carried the sacred body into Lupa's castle itself. Thus it happened that James was buried in the castle, since Lupa was converted and became a Christian along with her people. The castle was turned into 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 about four years.
(*) That James went to Spain to preach is affirmed by St. Antoninus; St. Isidore, in the book Vita et Morte Sanctorum; Braulio, Archbishop of Zaragoza (651); Julian, Archbishop of Toledo; Pope Callixtus II, Pope Pius V, Pope Sixtus V; and the Venerable Bede. The historian Gretscher states that it is an ancient tradition of all the churches of Spain.