” “"This maturity explained the Pope was brought to a head by the Holy Spirit in the Pentecost, so that James, when the time came of his supreme testimony, did not back out". In the 40s of 1st century, King Herod Agrippa "had James, John’s brother, killed by the sword". The succinctness of the news, commented Benedict XVI, "reveals on one side how normal it was for Christians to testify the Lord through their lives and on the other side how James had an outstanding position within the Church of Jerusalem". In addition, the Holy Father recalled a tradition according to which James’s body was transferred to Santiago de Compostela, a place that has become the "destination of many pilgrimages". This "accounts for the iconographic representation of Saint James holding the pilgrim’s stick and the scroll of the Gospel, the typical traits of the wandering apostle devoted to the announcement of the ‘good news’". "From Saint James went on the Pope we can learn to be ready to welcome the Lord’s call even when He asks us to leave the ‘boat’ of our human certainties, to be enthusiastic in following Him on the roads He shows us beyond all of our deceptive conceits, to be willing to testify Him bravely, if needed, up to the supreme sacrifice of our lives". So, concluded Benedict XVI, "James stands before us as an example of generous adhesion to Christ. If we follow his example, we cannot go wrong".” “
