25 July is the Feast of St James the Great (or Greater), the apostle, and of St Christopher the Martyr.

St James was one of the Twelve Apostles and he and his brother John, “the Disciple whom Jesus loved”, were sons of Zebedee, a fisherman. His martyrdom, being executed by sword on the orders of King Herod, is recorded in the Book of Acts: “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” (Acts 12:1-2, King James Version)