James, son of Alphaeus

Who they were

James, called the Less to distinguish him from James the Greater, was one of the Twelve. St Paul calls him the Lord's 'brother', a word used for close relatives; some sources make him Christ's cousin, and his brother was the apostle Jude Thaddeus. The risen Christ appeared to him.

He succeeded to the leadership of the Church in Jerusalem, where around the year 50 he presided at the Council that settled whether Gentile converts must be circumcised. Known as 'the Just' for his austere life, he is honoured as author of the Letter of James, which teaches that faith without works is dead. He died a martyr, probably by stoning, between 62 and 66, and is buried with St Philip in the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles in Rome.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: James has been honoured as an apostle and martyr since the earliest Church. He shares his feast with St Philip on 3 May.

Why that counted as sanctity

James led the mother Church of Jerusalem through its first great question, held the Gentiles and the Jewish Christians together, and lived so upright a life that he was called 'the Just'. He taught that faith must be lived in works, and he died for Christ.