- William of Maleval
Saint William of Maleval or William the Great (died
10 February 1157 ) was the founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites, a branch of theHermits of St. Augustine . He wasbeatified in 1202.The account of his life, written by his disciple Albert, who lived with him during his last year at
Maleval , has been lost. Written accounts of his life by Theodobald, or Thibault, given by theBollandists , is unreliable because it has been interpolated with the lives of at least two other Williams. After a number of chapters in which he is confused withSt. William of Gellone ,Duke of Aquitaine , we are told that he went toRome , where he had an interview with popeEugene III , who ordered him to make apilgrimage toJerusalem inpenance for his sins. Though Theodobald's account of his interview with the pope does not carry conviction, the fact of this visit and his subsequent pilgrimage to Jerusalem is supported by excerpts from the older life, which are preserved byresponsories andantiphon s in his liturgical feast Office. He seems to have remained at Jerusalem for one or two years, not nine as Theodobald relates. About 1153 he returned to Italy and led a hermit's life in a wood nearPisa , then on Monte Pruno, and finally in 1155 in the desert valley ofStabulum Rodis , later known asMaleval , in the political territory ofSiena and in theBishopric of Grosseto , where he was joined by Albert.ources
*Catholic [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15633c.htm]
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