The Catholic Church in Spain has a long history, starting in the 1st century. It is the largest religion in Spain, with 58.6% of Spaniards identifying as Catholic. Attempts were made from the late 1st century to the late 3rd century to establish the church in the Iberian peninsula. Paul the Apostle expressed a wish to preach in Spain in the Epistle to the Romans, although most scholars of early Christianity believe Paul did not go on to make an actual journey to Spain. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor holds that Paul did travel to Spain and preach there for up to a few months with little success, most likely because Greek was not widely spoken there. Traditional accounts credit the Apostle James the Great with early preaching of the Christian faith in Spain, but many scholars doubt the historicity o