Saint William of Montevergine, also known as William the Abbot or William of Vercelli

Saint William of Montevergine, also known as William the Abbot or William of Vercelli, is a significant figure in the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in 1085 into a noble family of Vercelli in northwest Italy. At the age of fourteen, he decided to go on a pilgrimage – first to Santiago de Compostela, and then to the Holy Land. He gave up all he had in order to embrace a religious life.

After returning from Spain, he intended to go to Jerusalem but was beaten up and robbed by thieves. Considering this misfortune a sign of God's will, he decided to stay in South Italy and spread the message of Christ. In 1118, he went to the region of Irpinia, at the base of Monte Partenio, where he became a hermit. His fame as a holy man spread throughout the region, and people began to visit his hermitage.

William, born of noble parents at Vercelli, had scarcely finished his fourteenth year when he made a pilgrimage to Compostella in a wonderful spirit of penitence and devotional zeal.

Then, having vainly attempted another, pilgrimage, to the tomb of Christ the Lord, he spent two years on a solitary mountain in constant prayer, in vigils and in fasting.

Fleeing human renown after he had restored sight to a blind man, he built a monastery on Monte Virgiliáno, which was thereafter called Monte Vergine, in a wild and inaccessible spot.

There companions joined him, and he formed them by fixed regulations taken largely from those of St. Benedict, by word, and by the example of a most holy life.

Then he built other monasteries, and daily his fame as a holy man grew; so that many came to him from all parts, drawn by the report of his frequent miracles.

Finally, having foretold the day of his death, he fell asleep in the Lord, in the year of salvation 1142.

The hermitage eventually became a small community, the germ of the Order of Monte Vergine, which was officially recognized in 1126. St. William led more by example than by instruction: he undertook rigorous penances, was found constantly at prayer, and served the poor with great charity.

He is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, and his feast day is celebrated on June 25. His life and works serve as an inspiration for many, embodying the virtues of humility, piety, and service to others.



(1) William of Montevergine - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_Montevergine.

(2) St. William - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/06/25/st-william--abbot--founder-of-the-congregation-of-montevergine.html.

(3) St. William, Abbot of Eskille, Confessor | EWTN. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/st-william-abbot-of-eskille-confessor-5941.