The Apostle St James the Greater
St James the Greater was one of the apostles who was closest to Jesus.
James the Greater is credited with founding a Christian congregation in Spain and was considered to be the first ever pilgrim. He was martyred by beheading in Jerusalem circa 44 CE.
According to legend, his body was moved to Spain and hidden when the Muslims conquered Jerusalem in the 7th century. His grave was miraculously rediscovered around 800 CE in what became Santiago de Compostella. This gradually evolved into becoming the most important place of pilgrimage for Christians, after Rome and Jerusalem. Today, the road to Compostella through France and northern Spain is the most popular pilgrim route in Europe.
The statue
The statue of St James shows him with a pilgrim stave, bag, hat and badge in the form of a scallop shell.
-
Feast day
25 July (Feast of St James, Jacob Wet-Hat Day, Jakobsok)
-
Attribute
Pilgrim’s garb with a stave, hat and bag, and scallop shell.
-
Patron saint of
Pilgrims, Spain (Santiago), warriors, workers, furriers, apothecaries, dye merchants, wax moulders, smiths, hatters.
-
The sculpture
It was modelled by Nic. Schiøll and carved by Jakob Ankile in 1934.
