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The Way of St James (Camino Francés) · Stop 19 · Day 8
Cathedral of Santiago
In the Bible
Jesus calls James son of Zebedee and his brother John from their boat. Acts tells that King Herod had James put to death with the sword, in Jerusalem; it says nothing of his burial.
Going on a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat, mending their nets. Immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.Tradition
By tradition, James preached on the Iberian Peninsula, and after his death his disciples brought his body by sea to Galicia; his tomb was found here in the 9th century. This is tradition, not the Bible.
Here today
A Romanesque cathedral begun in 1075; under the altar, the crypt of the apostle's tomb. A Pilgrim's Mass every day; the botafumeiro swings on certain days.
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Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).