So who was St James?
James (the greater) was one of Jesus’s 12 disciples. He was mending his fishing nets one day with his brother John when Jesus found them and said “C’mon. Let me make you fishers of men” or something similar. According to legend, James came to Spain in 40AD though little if anything survives to prove this. Some records show he converted maybe 6 people while here. He returned to Jerusalem, where King Herod had him beheaded, (though James caught his own head and held it close to his chest, which can be tricky) and then had his bones thrown outside the city walls. Two of his followers picked up the pieces (gross) and traveled in a stone boat back to Spain, and buried him in tomb with his name on it on a hill in Santiago.
He lay there, resting in peace, until 814AD when a hermit named Pelayo followed a trail of stars in the sky that led right to his tomb. The towns full name, Santiago de Compostella, give credence to this in that “compo” can be translated as “field” and “stella” means “stars” so “Saint Iago in the field of stars.” Pelayo contacted the local bishop Theodomir who confirmed these were the bones of St. James. To do this, I think Theodomir must have had an awesome reference library back in 814AD! Anyway Theodomir told the king what they found, and a small chapel was built on the site… with a Cathedral being completed in 1188. And millions of people have been coming to see St. James’ bones ever since.