The Feast of St. James & St. Christopher - July 25th

The Catholic Church is packed full of feast days for different saints and devotions. July 25th is one of these, but it's a little more unique than the rest. July 25th is the feast of St. James & St. Christopher. Yes, there are two saints for one day...

Why did the Catholic Church allow two feasts on one day and who are both of these saints?

St. James was one of the twelve Apostles. Along with his brother John, he was often referred to as the "sons of Zebedee." Like most of the earliest saints, we don't know much about his life. However, we know the story of his martyrdom. In the Book of Acts, we read, "About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword..." (Acts 12:1-2)

Why Spain?

Because it is believed that he preached in what is now modern-day Spain, he is the patron saint of Spain. The shrine at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela has become a popular pilgrimage destination. It also marks the end of a 500-mile pilgrimage called "The Camino de Santiago" or "The Way of St. James." Santiago is Spanish for James. Over 350,000 people walk at least a portion of the pilgrimage trail each year - and this number is only growing!

We have stories and traditions to thank for everything we know about St. Christopher - which is not much!

Christopher was originally named Reprobus. He was a Canaanite who would later be martyred for his faith in the 3rd century AD. According to legend, early on in his life, he made himself a servant to the devil. Soon, however, he realized that Jesus Christ was a much stronger and greater King than the devil. He sought out and found a hermit who began to teach him the faith. The hermit gave him the task of serving Christ by helping people across a swelling river.

The story goes that Reprobus carried a young child across the river on his shoulders during an especially dangerous time. After complaining to the child about the pain and danger he was in, the child answered "You had on your shoulders not only the whole world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work." After the child revealed himself to be Christ, he instructed Reprobus to go to the bishop. The child said, "Tell him to baptize you with a new name. From now on, you shall be called 'Christopher,' " - which means "Christ-bearer." Then the child disappeared.

Because of the story that Christopher helped many travelers across this dangerous river, he is known as the patron saint of travelers. Many travelers pray to St. Christopher for safe and healthy travels to this day. This devotion has grown to include many special St. Christopher devotional products (including car visor clips, pewter medals, and more seen below).

Most saint feast days are chosen to align with the date that the saint died. We don't really know these dates for St. James though. When the date of death is unknown, or if that date already has several other saints, the Church will often pick/assign a new day for the feast. The Feast of St. James was actually placed on July 25th to coincide with and honor St. Christopher, also known in Spanish as San Cristobal. Now, many people attempt to finish their walk on El Camino on July 25th as this is when pilgrims can receive a plenary indulgence and general forgiveness of all their sins. These two saints, both associated with conversion and travel, are great figures of courage and steadfastness to ask for intercession on their fast day.