Saint William of Vercelli

William was born in Vercelli in 1085, into a noble family, and as a very young man he set out as a pilgrim for Santiago de Compostela. The story goes that, while staying with a blacksmith, he asked him to make an iron contraption to wear on his body during the journey, and that it was so heavy he could barely drag it along. He made the whole pilgrimage fasting. Back in Italy he wanted to go to Jerusalem, and he moved south to take ship. On the way he was attacked and beaten by bandits. He took that misadventure as a sign that he was meant to stay where he was, and he never left. He settled on the mountain that towers over Avellino, in a very high, uninhabited place where, according to tradition, an ancient temple had once stood. There, in 1124, he began to build: it is Montevergine, still one of the most visited shrines in southern Italy. The Madonna venerated there, Mamma Schiavona, draws pilgrimages every year that set out on foot from Naples and the surrounding towns. He founded other monasteries, for men and for women, and was an adviser to Roger II of Sicily, who wanted him close. He died at the abbey of Goleto, which he had founded himself, on June 25, 1142. If your name is William, today is your name day.