William of Montevergine, or William of Vercelli, ( it, Guglielmo) ( la, Gulielmus) (1085 – 25 June 1142), also known as William the Abbot, was a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
and the founder of the
Congregation of Monte Vergine, or "
Williamites". He is venerated as a
saint by the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Life
He was born in 1085 into a noble family of
Vercelli
Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
in northwest
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and brought up by a relation after the death of his parents. He undertook a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
. On his pilgrimage to Compostela, William asked a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
to make an iron implement that would encircle his body and increase his suffering, and he wore it throughout the pilgrimage.
[CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: William of Vercelli](_blank)
/ref>
After he returned to Italy, he intended to go to Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and for this purpose he reached South Italy
South Italy ( it, Italia meridionale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. South Italy encom ...
, but he was beaten up and robbed by thieves
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...
. William considered this misfortune a sign of God's will to stay in South Italy
South Italy ( it, Italia meridionale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. South Italy encom ...
and spread the message of Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. Because of this,[ istoria-montevergine p. 5] he decided not to travel to Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
anymore and to settle in South Italy
South Italy ( it, Italia meridionale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. South Italy encom ...
, on the summit of Monte Vergine (then known as Monte Vergiliana) between Nola
Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian wor ...
and Benevento, where he lived as a hermit.
Here he attracted a number of followers and founded the Monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
of Montevergine.
While at Montevergine, William of Vercelli is stated as having performed miracles
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
. 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.
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.[ istoria-montevergine p. 11] Therefore, he left Montevergine in 1128 and settled on the plains in Goleto, in the territory of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi
Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It has been a historical spot of significance in mezzogiorno history.
Information
Geography
Just on a hilltop near the Fredano ...
, between Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
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and Basilicata, where he began a new monastic experience, a double monastery built mostly by women.
Subsequently, he founded several other monasteries of the same rule, but mostly remained in Goleto except for some trips to Apulia.
Eventually he died in Goleto on June 25, 1142. His remains were buried in Goleto, where they stayed until they were transferred to Montevergine on September 2, 1807, as ordered by the king of Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
Gioacchino Murat. Some of his relics are also located in other cathedrals ( Benevento) and Italian churches. Catholic tradition states that William foresaw his own imminent death "by special revelation".
250px, 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. 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
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, 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
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
, even in the monastery of Montevergine.[ istoria-montevergine p. 9] 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
Hagiographer
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
Tommaso Costo (1591) wrote that king Roger II of Sicily had heard about William of Montevergine, and thus he wanted to meet him. The king reportedly was living in Salerno at that time.[ istoria-montevergine p. 19] Reportedly, while visiting the king, a prostitute wanted to prove the genuineness of his faith, and, complicit with the king, tried to get into William of Montevergine's bed who, in response, put burning embers on his bed and there he lay down, inviting the prostitute to follow his example. Reportedly the woman repented of her mistake and switched to a more religious life.[ istoria-montevergine p. 19-21]
Posthumous sources add further details, stating that the prostitute had been called Agnes and that, after conversion, she had built a monastery in Venosa
Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervas ...
, where she led a monastic life with other women, being called "Blessed Agnes of Venosa". Hagiographer
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
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''.[ istoria-montevergine p. 22]
See also
* Abbey of San Guglielmo al Goleto
References
Bibliography
*
* (first printed edition of the ''Legenda de vita et obitus'')
*
*
* ''The Book of Saints'', compiled by the Benedictine monks of St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate. London: Cassell, 1994. .
Guglielmo di Montevergine (da Vercelli)
at the Santi e Beati website.
*
Further reading
Guglielmo di Montevergine (da Vercelli)
at Santi e Beati
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:William Of Montevergine
1085 births
1142 deaths
Italian Roman Catholic saints
12th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests
People from Vercelli
12th-century Christian saints
Italian untitled nobility