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James and his brother John were called by Jesus to be his disciples. They were the sons of Zebedee and Salome
and were known as 'Sons of Thunder' because of their impetuous nature.
 

James was probably older than John and was called 'the Great' or 'the Greater' to distinguish him from the other apostle, James the Less, who was the son of Alphaeus and who was most likely or smaller in stature.

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After the death and resurrection of Jesus, James is thought to have preached in Iberia as well as in the Holy Land.
In 44 AD he was the first of the apostles to die for his faith when he was beheaded in Judea by Herod Agrippa.
 

Some believe that his disciples carried his body by sea to Padrón the Galician coast. They then buried his body under
what is now the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

 

His relics were discovered sometime between 791AD and 842AD and Santiago de Compostela
then became a place of pilgrimage.
 

Pope Leo XIII asserted that the relics of Saint James de Compostela were authentic in a papal bull
which was published on the 1st of November 1884.