William of Montevergine

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
crosier
PatronageIrpinia

William of Montevergine, or William of Vercelli, (

Roman Catholic Church
.

Life

He was born in 1085 into a noble family of Vercelli in northwest Italy and was brought up by a relation after the death of his parents. He undertook a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. On his pilgrimage to Compostela, William asked a blacksmith to make an iron implement that would encircle his body and increase his suffering, and he wore it throughout the pilgrimage.[1]

After he returned to Italy, he intended to go to

Christ. Because of this,[2] he decided not to travel to Jerusalem anymore and to settle in South Italy, on the summit of Monte Vergine (then known as Monte Vergiliana) between Nola and Benevento, where he lived as a hermit. Here he attracted a number of followers and founded the Monastery
of Montevergine.

While at Montevergine, William of Vercelli is stated as having performed

miracles.[1] Roger II of Sicily served as a patron to William, who founded many monasteries for men and women in Sicily. The Catholic Encyclopedia states that Roger built a monastery opposite his palace at Salerno in order to have William always near him.[1]

The inflow of the faithful was for the priests the opportunity to exercise their ministry, and the hermit life that William sought was compromised. Moreover, his confreres did not tolerate that lifestyle too austere and full of privations.[3] Therefore, he left Montevergine in 1128 and settled on the plains in Goleto, in the territory of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, between Campania and Basilicata, where he began a new monastic experience, a double monastery built mostly by women. [citation needed]

Subsequently, he founded several other monasteries of the same rule but mostly remained in Goleto except for some trips to

cathedrals (Benevento) and Italian churches.[5] Catholic tradition states that William foresaw his own imminent death "by special revelation".[1]

The Abbey of San Guglielmo al Goleto.

Sources

The most reliable source concerning William of Vercelli's life is the Legenda de vita et obitu sancti Guilielmi Confessoris et heremitae, written in the first half of the 13th century, thus shortly thereafter.[6] The remaining later sources contain corrupt or even invented accounts on his life, therefore they are unreliable although not necessarily false, as primary sources may have been lost.

The miracle of the wolf

According to all the sources, including the earliest source, Legenda de vita et obitu sancti Guilielmi Confessoris et heremitae, all of which are close to

Catholicism, he performed many miracles. The best-known miracle was and still is the "Miracle of the Wolf" (1591). Because of this, he is often depicted in company with a "domesticated" wolf, even in the monastery of Montevergine.[7] One day a wolf hunted and killed a donkey the saint used for towing and other tasks. The saint then turned to the wolf and ordered the beast to offer himself to do all the donkey's previous tasks. The wild beast reportedly became tame, and the people who met the saint
were astonished to see such a docile wolf.

At King Roger II's court

prostitute to follow his example. Reportedly the woman repented of her mistake and switched to a more religious life.[9]

Posthumous sources add further details, stating that the prostitute had been called Agnes and that, after conversion, she had built a monastery in

Hagiographer Tommaso Costo, as early as in the 16th century, dismissed the second part of the story, there being no mention of it in the main and most reliable source, the Legenda de vita et obitu sancti Guilielmi Confessoris et heremitae.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: William of Vercelli
  2. ^ istoria-montevergine p. 5
  3. ^ istoria-montevergine p. 11
  4. ^ "St. William of Vercelli".
  5. ^ "Diocese of Benevento".
  6. ^ "Treccani - biographical dictionary".
  7. ^ istoria-montevergine p. 9
  8. ^ istoria-montevergine p. 19
  9. ^ a b istoria-montevergine p. 19-21
  10. ^ "Saint Guillaume de Verceil".
  11. ^ istoria-montevergine p. 22

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_of_Montevergine&oldid=1191386610"