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| Statue of St. James the Less in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran by Angelo de Rossi |
The 3rd of May is the feast day of Saint James the Lesser, also known as Saint James the Less, or Saint James the Just. He is the patron saint of pharmacists and the dying.
Saint James the Less was one of the Twelves Apostles as well as a cousin of Our Lord. Both he and his brother, Saint Jude followed Jesus in the second year of His ministry. Saint James was the first Apostle of whom Jesus appeared to after the resurrection. After Jesus' ascension into heaven, Saint James became the bishop of Jerusalem and was one of the important leaders of the early Church. His holiness and prayer life was well known. He prayed to such an extent that his forehead and knees were calloused due to the long time he would spend praying. He was even respected by the Jews and known to be a holy man. He wrote the epistle that bears his name in the New Testament. In 62 AD, in the reign of Emperor Nero, he was martyred by being thrown from the roof the Jerusalem temple and then was stoned and beaten to death.
