St. William was born in the Lombardy city of Vercelli. When he was a little child, his parents passed away, and he was raised by a relative who instilled in him deep religious beliefs. At the age of fifteen, with a sincere desire to live a repentant life, William left his hometown, setting out on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Since the journey wasn't challenging enough for him, he encircled his legs with tight iron bands, causing pain and making walking difficult, drawing closer to God through his suffering. After William returned from Spain, he intended to go to Jerusalem, and for this purpose, he reached South Italy, but instead, he was beaten up and robbed by bandits. William interpreted this misfortune as a sign of God's plan for him to remain in South Italy and share the gospel there.
William chose a remote mountain there as his home, where he embraced a simple and ascetic existence, devoting himself to rigorous self-discipline and constant contemplation. His contemplative life was disturbed following a healing miracle brought about by his prayers. So he relocated to another mountain and constructed a beautiful church in honor of Our Lady at Monte Vergine. William of Vercelli is credited with working numerous miracles while he was in Monte Vergine. The "Miracle of the Wolf" was and continues to be the most well-known miracle. Because of this, he is often depicted in the company of a "domesticated" wolf. One day, the saint's donkey, which he used for towing and other activities, was slain by a wolf. The saint then addressed the wolf, commanding it to offer itself to do the donkey's previous tasks. According to legend, the savage animal grew tame, and those who encountered the saint were astounded to witness such a submissive wolf.
With several former secular priests who joined him there, in 1119, he established the Congregation of Monte Vergine, or Mount of the Virgin. These sons of Our Lady lived in great austerity. The devil sowed dissension and criticism in this community after seeing the growth in holiness of the good religious being formed there. But God drew good from evil when St William went elsewhere and founded several more monasteries, both for men and women, in various places in the kingdom of Naples. He assisted the King of Naples, who greatly venerated William, to practice all the Christian virtues of a worthy sovereign, and in return, the King had a house of the Order built in Salerno directly across from his palace so that he could be around him more frequently. After St. William's demise on June 25th, 1142, it was discovered that he still needed to formulate guidelines for his religious community. In order to prevent the fragmentation of the community, Robert, who succeeded him, decided to subject them to the established and well-known Saint Benedict's Rule.
St. William of Vercelli, pray that we may become worthy to receive the eternal gift of happiness in Heaven.
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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