William of Vercelli

Saint William of Montevergine OSB
Saint William of Montevergine's statue at St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican
Abbot
Born	1085 Vercelli, Italy
Died	June 25, 1142 Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, Italy
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Feast	June 25
Attributes	wolf; crosier
Patronage	Irpinia

William of Montevergine, or William of Vercelli, (Italian Guglielmo) (Latin Gulielmus) (1085 – 25 June 1142) was a Catholic hermit and the founder of the Congregation of Monte Vergine, or "Williamites". He is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

He was born in 1085 into a noble family of Vercelli in northwest Italy and 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.

After he returned to Italy, he intended to go to Jerusalem and for this purpose he reached South Italy, but he was beaten up and robbed by thieves. William considered this misfortune a sign of God's will to stay in South Italy and spread the message of Christ. Because of this, 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.