Saint William of Vercelli

William was born in 1085 at Vercelli in Piedmont and lost his parents as a child. At about fourteen he set out on foot as a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, wearing iron bands around his body as a penance. Later he planned to go to Jerusalem, but after being attacked by robbers in southern Italy he understood that God wanted him to stay and pray there.

He lived as a hermit on Monte Partenio near Avellino, where disciples gathered around him. Around 1124 he founded the monastery of Montevergine, the origin of a Benedictine congregation, and later other houses, including a double monastery at Goleto. King Roger II of Sicily respected him and sought his counsel. William died at Goleto on June 25, 1142. In 1942 Pope Pius XII named him patron of the region of Irpinia.

The Sanctuary of Montevergine, which guards the beloved icon of the Madonna known as Mamma Schiavona, draws great pilgrimages from Naples and all of Campania, and its monks keep William's feast with solemn Mass.

Pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago sometimes remember him as one of the youngest saints to walk the road.