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Saint James the Less:
Our Patron Saint
Detail of the mural behind the main altar at St. James Church.
James the Less was the Apostle called “the Younger” or “the
Just,” named in the lists of the disciples given by Matthew, Mark, and Luke and
mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. He was the son of Alpheus and was known
as “the Less” merely as a means of distinguishing him from James the Greater who
was older or taller. Little else is known with certainty about him, unless one accepts
the view that he is to be identified with St. James, the Brother of the Lord,
with whom he is often confused. In liturgical art, he is depicted holding a book
or a club. Legend says he was martyred for his faith by being thrown from the
pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem by the Pharisees after being clubbed and then stoned to death
May 3, AD 62.
Pope Benedict XVI's General Audience of Wednesday, June 28, 2006:
In our weekly catechesis on the Church’s apostolic ministry, we
now turn to the Apostle James the Less. In the Gospels, James is called the son
of Alphaeus. He is often identified with another James, known as "James the
younger" (cf. Mk 15:40), or "James, the brother of the Lord" (cf. Mt
13:55; Gal 1:19). The Gospels themselves do not relate anything about
either James during our Lord’s earthly ministry. The Acts of the Apostles,
however, present a "James" whom Saint Paul names with Peter as a "column" of the
Church in Jerusalem (Gal 2:9). At the Council of Jerusalem (cf. Acts
15), it was James who proposed that the Gentiles converted to Christ not be
forced to follow all the precepts of the Mosaic Law. Together with Peter, he
thus enabled Gentile Christians to maintain their identity, while respecting the
perennially valid relationship between Christianity and its Jewish origins.
James also gave his name to the New Testament Letter of James, which
continues to speak to us today, stressing the need for a living faith expressed
in good works (2:26), and serene abandonment to the will of God (4:15).
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