William of Montevergine
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Saint William of Montevergine or William of Vercelli (Italian Guglielmo) (Latin Gulielmus) (1085 – 25 June 1142) was a Christian hermit and the founder of the Congregation of Montevergine, or “Williamites”.
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[edit] Life
He was born into a noble family of Vercelli in north-west Italy and brought up by a relation after the death of his parents. After undertaking the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, he lived as a hermit on the summit of Monte Vergine (then known as Monte Vergiliana) between Nola and Benevento. Here he attracted a number of followers and founded the Monastery of Montevergine. He died at Santa Maria di Guglieto, a daughter house of Montevergine near Nusco, province of Avellino.
[edit] Calendar
Although he has been recognized as a saint within the Roman Catholic Church, his observance was restricted to local calendars in 1969. His feast day is 25 June, the date of his death.
[edit] Iconography
His emblems include the wolf and the crosier.
[edit] The old Catholic Encyclopedia version
The account of his life in the old Catholic Encyclopedia includes a number of interesting assertions of fact, not all of them implausible[citation needed]:
- On his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, “not content with the ordinary hardships of such a pilgrimage, he encircled his body with iron bands to increase his suffering”.
- On Montevergine he performed many miracles.
- “Roger I of Sicily took him under his patronage, and the saint founded many monasteries, both of men and of women, in that kingdom.”
- Roger built a monastery opposite his palace at Salerno in order to have William always near him.
- William foresaw his own imminent death “by special revelation”.
[edit] References
- The Book of Saints, compiled by the Benedictine monks of St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate. London: Cassell, 1994. ISBN 0-304-34357-9.
- Guglielmo di Montevergine (da Vercelli) at the Santi e Beati website.
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. [1]
[edit] Further reading
- Monastero e Santuario di Montevergine (Italian)
- Guglielmo di Montevergine (da Vercelli) at Santi e Beati (Italian)
