Saint June 25 : St. William of Vercelli who Commanded a Wolf to Help Him! Patron Saint of Childless Couples, Mental Healing, Monks, Against Earthquakes
St. William of Vercelli, the Hermit - ABBOT AND FOUNDER
Patron Saint of Montevergine, Childless Couples, People in Need of Mental Healing, Monastic Life, Protection Against Earthquakes.
Feast Day: June 25 - Born: 1085 at Vercelli, Italy
Died: 25 June 1142 at Guglietto, ItalyFeast Day: June 25 - Born: 1085 at Vercelli, Italy
Prayer to St. William of Montevergine - St. William of Vercelli, You were a father to your monks and a shepherd to your people. Pray for us that we might have our sight restored and that we might see, with the eyes of our hearts and souls,God’s presence in and around us. Teach us to nourish our spiritual journeys with prayers so that we too might be instruments of God’s light and love to others. In the spirit of St. Benedict, help us to be people of hospitality who let our work become prayer. Let us find God in each other. Amen.
Biography: ST. WILLIAM, having lost his father and mother in his infancy, was brought up by his relatives, in great sentiments of piety. He decided to devote his life to God after he completed a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain at the age of 14. At fifteen years of age, out of an earnest desire to lead a penitential life, he left Piedmont, his native country, and afterward retired into the kingdom of Naples, where he chose for his abode a desert mountain, and lived in perpetual contemplation and the exercises of most rigorous penitential austerities. He lived as a hermit for two years, and miraculously healed a blind man. He embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but was attacked by bandits before he reached his destination. William took the attack as a sign that he would be of more use to God in Italy than in the Holy Land. He lived life as a hermit at Monte Vergiliano and his holiness brought him many followers. He formed them into the Hermits of Monte Vergine, whose rule was very similar to the Rule of Benedict. When angry whispers pertaining to William's harsh discipline reached him, he and a small group of brothers left, in order to avoid a conflict. Legend has it that after leaving his community, William began building the church on Monteverge with only a donkey for assistance. One night, a wolf devoured the donkey. William commanded the wolf to take the donkey's place and the wolf complied, which helped to do God's work. Legend says that the wolf still roams the mountain today, ready to assist those who are in peril and call upon the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In 1119, was laid the foundation of the religious congregation called de Monte-Vergine. The Saint died on the 25th of June, 1142.
(Taken from St. Mary's Press and Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler - https://saintoftheday.com/)
Biography: ST. WILLIAM, having lost his father and mother in his infancy, was brought up by his relatives, in great sentiments of piety. He decided to devote his life to God after he completed a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain at the age of 14. At fifteen years of age, out of an earnest desire to lead a penitential life, he left Piedmont, his native country, and afterward retired into the kingdom of Naples, where he chose for his abode a desert mountain, and lived in perpetual contemplation and the exercises of most rigorous penitential austerities. He lived as a hermit for two years, and miraculously healed a blind man. He embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but was attacked by bandits before he reached his destination. William took the attack as a sign that he would be of more use to God in Italy than in the Holy Land. He lived life as a hermit at Monte Vergiliano and his holiness brought him many followers. He formed them into the Hermits of Monte Vergine, whose rule was very similar to the Rule of Benedict. When angry whispers pertaining to William's harsh discipline reached him, he and a small group of brothers left, in order to avoid a conflict. Legend has it that after leaving his community, William began building the church on Monteverge with only a donkey for assistance. One night, a wolf devoured the donkey. William commanded the wolf to take the donkey's place and the wolf complied, which helped to do God's work. Legend says that the wolf still roams the mountain today, ready to assist those who are in peril and call upon the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In 1119, was laid the foundation of the religious congregation called de Monte-Vergine. The Saint died on the 25th of June, 1142.
(Taken from St. Mary's Press and Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler - https://saintoftheday.com/)
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