St. James the Greater, Apostle25 July
Santiago Matamoros
(St. James the Moor Slayer)
"The General Chronicle of King Alfonso X the Wise reports a miraculous event during the battle of Clavijo, which gave the cult of St. James a dramatic configuration. According to witnesses, Santiago was seen descending from the sky mounted on a white horse, having in one hand a snow-white banner on which was displayed a blood red cross, and in the other a sword... The imagery will present him thereafter as a knight on a white horse, carrying a banner with the Cross of Santiago and wielding a flashing sword. Protector of Christendom, he became Santiago Matamoros, the Moor slayer. ... The restoration of Christendom requires, today as ever, a militant approach to every facet of life, and Santiago is perhaps our best model. Una manu sua faciebat opus et altera tenebat gladium. Work and combat, under Mary’s protection; we should make ours these two lessons of Santiago: constant work and militant attitude in order to defend the principles of Catholic civilization." (The Way of Compostela by Fr. Ramón Anglés)
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