Lentorana 2018: Second String Saints

Day 18 - William of Montevergine

Born into a rich Italian family, William started on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem when he was beaten and robbed, which he took as a sign that he should stay where he was in southern Italy. He moved to a mountaintop (the Monte Vergine of his name) and became a hermit. He wound up attracting several followers and built a monastery.  He would earn the patronage of Roger II, which allowed him to build several more monasteries.

Which seems like a good thing, right? Maybe too much of a good thing, as William became increasingly at odds with the other clergy in his monasteries over the austerity of life under his domain. So William moved off his mountain and settled in a town called Goleto, where he founded more monasteries but was able to live out the rest of his days.

Not sure how or when William was sainted - he does have a couple of miracles attributed to him (including one in which he laid down on a bed of hot coals to thwart a prostitute who was testing his faith), and apparently knew his death was near by a "special revelation." The king of Naples had his remains moved from its original resting place in 1807, I'm assuming to gain some sort of advantage by relocating him to his original mountain home. He was removed from the calendar, like so many others, for not being of "universal importance." Which I suppose makes sense for a hermit, as that's not exactly a career path that gets you universality.