medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (4 April) is also the feast day of:
William (Guglielmo) of Scicli or of Noto, blessed (d. 1404). Often
referred to as William (or Guglielmo) Buccheri, after the name of his
presumed family, W. is said to have been a noble of Noto in southeastern
Sicily, to have entered as a page the court of Frederick II-or-III (the
numeration of Sicilian kings is most troublesome in the case of its
Fredericks; this is F. "the Usurper", d. 1337), and while yet an esquire to
have saved his sovereign's life during a hunt on Etna's southern flanks by
interposing himself between F. and a charging boar. Mortally injured in
the process, W. was carried dying to Catania, where in a vision St. Agatha
told him to arise, to abandon the court, and to seek solitude (where God
would speak to his heart). Miraculously cured, but still lame, W.
presented himself to the king, announced his intention to live as a hermit
in accordance with the vision, and was given both permission to do so and a
horse and some money to aid him on his way. W. returned to Noto, became a
Franciscan tertiary, and lived for some years in a nearby hermitage, where
he was joined by St. Conrad/Corrado of Piacenza (or of Noto; 19 February)
late in the latter's life. After Corrado had moved on to his final
hermitage at the grotto of Pizzoni, W. was instructed by the BVM to proceed
to Scicli (also in southeastern Sicily; like Noto, now in Ragusa
province). Here he became custodian of a tiny church dedicated to the
Virgin and spent the remainder of his long life in self-denial, penitence,
and constant prayer. A memorial originally written in 1405 formed the
foundation of his beatification campaign, which achieved success under Paul
III in 1537 (beatification) and 1538 (decree granting W. an Office and
Propers of a mass). He is Scicli's patron saint.
Best,
John Dillon
For general background and some common themes, see Henri Bresc,
"L'eremitisme franciscain en Sicile," in _Francescanesimo e cultura in
Sicilia (secc. XIII-XVI). Atti del Convegno internazionale di studio
nell'ottavo centenario della nascita di San Francesco d'Assisi, Palermo,
7-12 marzo 1982_ (Palermo: Officina di Studi medievali, 1987; = _Schede
Medievali_, no. 12-13), pp. 37-44.
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