[Roman Martyrology. Authority:—His Life, by his friend and disciple, Albert, in whose arms he died. Several modern writers have confused S. William of Maleval with S. William of Mariemont, and even with S. William I., Duke of Aquitaine, and S. William IX., Duke of Guienne, who died 1137.]

Nothing is known of the birth of this saint, or of his early life, on which he preserved an impenetrable secrecy. It is said that he made a pilgrimage to S. Jago of Compostella, but even this is uncertain, as S. William of Guienne, his contemporary, is known to have made this expedition, and it is quite possible that the act of one S. William has been transferred to the other.

In the year 1153, there appeared in Tuscany a man, who sought to hide himself from the eyes of his fellow-men. The islet of Lupocavio, in the district of Pisa, seemed to him to answer his desire; there he constructed a small habitation, and remained there. His edifying example attracted several persons to him, who settled near his cell, and undertook to follow his rule of life. But their fervour soon cooled down, and their undisciplined manners obliged him to withdraw from his solitude, and retire to Monte Prunio, where he hoped to be alone with his God, and where he erected in a dense wood, a hut of boughs, and thatched it with leaves and fern. He was soon joined by idle vagrants, who, under the pretence of a religious life, attempted to impose on the charity of pious persons. S. William soon discovered that these men were actuated by no religious vocation, and their hypocrisy drove him again from his resting-place. He was, indeed, compulsorily ejected by these miscreants, who could ill bear his sanctity subsisting as a reproach upon their irregularities. He then returned to the island of Lupocavio, but not finding his former associates there disposed to receive him, he fixed his habitation in a desert valley, called at that time "The stable of Rhodes," but since known as "the bad valley," Maleval. It was situated in the territory of Sienna, about a league distant from Castigline, Pescara, and Buriano. It was in 1155, that he hid himself in this solitude, having at first only a hole in the earth, in which he could shelter from the inclemency of the weather, till the Lord of Buriano, taking compassion on him, built a little cell for his lodging. For four months he lived only on roots and herbs, having no other companions than the wild beasts; but, in the beginning of the year 1156, he received a disciple, named Albert, who wrote the account of the close of his life. The saint practised surprising austerities; thrice in the week he took only very little bread, and wine much diluted; on the other days he took bread, and herbs and water. He wore sackcloth next his skin, and slept on the bare ground. He was endowed with the gift of prophecy, of which Albert had himself experience, for when the saint was dying, and his disciple was lamenting that he should be left alone, S. William bade him be of good cheer, for God would give him a companion shortly. This seemed so improbable, that Albert could not trust it; but going forth from the cell shortly after, he met a man, named Raynald, a physician, who had come to renounce the world and place himself under the direction of the pious hermit. Albert, fearing that the death of the saint might make him change his purpose, cast himself at his feet, and implored him to come and make his profession before the dying saint at once. Raynald did so, and Albert submitted himself to the direction of his new companion on the death of his first master. S. William died in the arms of Albert, after having received the last sacraments from a priest of Castigline, who had been warned of the illness of the hermit.

Raynald and Albert buried S. William in his little garden. After his death they preserved the spirit of penitence and mortification with which he had inspired them during his life, and they endeavoured to follow his maxims as their rule of life; and thus originated the Order of the Guillemites, which rapidly spread from Italy, through France, the Low Countries, and Germany. At first they followed the institutes of S. William only, and fasted almost perpetually, and walked barefoot. But Pope Gregory IX. moderated their great austerities, allowed them to be shod, and required them to follow the rule of S. Benedict.

S. JOHN-WILLIAM, H.
(A.D. 1241.)

[Day unfixed for his commemoration, but locally, he is commemorated on the same day as his namesake. He is called Saint in Belgium, but is of local canonization only. Authorities:—Life by an anonymous Cistercian monk, of undecided date, published by Bollandus, and another life in the annals of Jacobus Guisius.]

This venerable hermit of Brabant was the founder of the ancient abbey "of the Olive," whose ruins may still be seen at some little distance from the ancient castle of Mariemont, near Binche in Hainault.

Having lived a life of great irregularity during his youth, John-William retired, in a moment of remorse, to the abbey of Chérailles, near Vervins; but he shortly afterwards quitted it, being drawn into the world again by his passions. But God, says the legend, gave him a warning which brought him once more to his senses, and he retired to a lonely place near Morlanwelz, where he built a little hermitage of branches, and lived for some time, unknown, exercising himself in prayer and vigil, and living on roots and wild fruit. If we may believe a popular legend, to punish himself for having yielded to his animal passions so long, he would not stand upright, but walked about like a beast, on all fours. Later on, Dame Bertha, the widow of Eustace de Ræulz, having heard of his piety, offered him the choice of any spot on her lands, where he might cultivate the soil to supply his necessities. He accepted her offer, and began diligently to till the ground. John of Béthune, Bishop of Cambrai, informed of the perfection of the hermit, conferred upon him priest's orders; after which, John-William undertook the construction of a stone church on the ground given him by the lady Bertha. When this was complete, the hermit asked the abbess of Fontenelle to send some of her nuns to establish themselves there. She complied with his request, but the place not suiting them, they returned to their convent. At his request, seven nuns from Monstres-sur-Sambre were then sent to him, and they placed themselves under his direction; the institution was incorporated in the order of Citeaux, an abbess was elected, and the place which had formerly borne the designation of "The Hermitage," was now called "The Olive." There are many hypotheses to account for the origin of this name. One is, that it was derived from the number of cures wrought by olive oil, from the lamp burnt before the image of the Holy Virgin in the church. The founder died in 1240, on the 10th February, at the age of sixty-six, and was buried in the monastery church.

S. CLARA OF RIMINI, MATR.
(A.D. 1346.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority:—Life by Cardinal Joseph Garampi.]