[loser]

You're getting fact, fiction, and legend all mixed up. The 'sword' that James fought with was the "sword of the Spirit".

Catholics have always been a superstitious lot and many legends and/or traditions are based on such. For example, Marian visitations are a recurrent theme in their ideology. The idea that Mary appeared to James (or to anyone else, for that matter) is strictly a Catholic tradition and has no basis in reality.

Similarly, (Catholic) tradition has it that (Saint) James appeared fighting with the 'Christians' against the Muslims (Moors) during the Reconquista and specifically the battle of Clavijo. The trouble is that this battle took place in 844 A.D., some 800 years after James's death.

Myths and legends, like Santa Claus, may be fine for children (though debatable) but when we grow up we need to separate these stories from the truth.