January 10: Saint William

Saint William ( 1140 – 10 January 1209) was a French Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Archbishop of Bourges from 1200 until his death. He served as a canon in Soissons and Paris before he entered the Order of Grandmont. Sometime later he entered the Cistercians. He was known to practice austerities such as abstaining from meat and wearing a hair shirt.

He was also known for his deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and for his conversion of sinners. He oversaw the construction of the new archdiocesan cathedral that his predecessor had authorized and in which he himself would be buried. It had been claimed that he performed eighteen miracles in life and a further eighteen in death.

His canonization was celebrated under Pope Honorius III in 1218 and he was named as the patron saint for the Parisian college.

Daily Reading, Saints

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