St. William of Paris

St. William of Paris

Abbot of Eskill in Denmark, born 1105; died 1202. He was born of a noble French family, and became a secular canon at Ste Geneviève-du-Mond and, after Suger's reform, a canon regular. He was sub-prior of the monastery when Bishop Absalom of Lund, who had heard reports of William's sanctity, sent Saxo Grammaticus to Paris to request his assistance in restoring religious discipline in his diocese. The saint acceded to his request, becoming Abbot of Eskill, where he succeeded in bringing back the religious to the primitive observance of their rule. He was canonized on 12 February, 1224, his feast being observed on 6 April.