SAINT WILLIAM OF ESKILSOE

St. William of Eskilsoe
William of Eskhill,
Also known as William of Aebelholt or Eskilsoë
Born in Paris, France, . 1125;
Died in Denmark, on April 6, 1203;
canonized in 1224 by Pope Honorius III.
Feast day: April 6




William of Eskilsoë, the English equivalent of Eskiloë (Ise Fjord), a Danish town that once housed an abbey, was one of the most revered saints of Denmark, and his extant letters are a valuable source for the history of the Danish church. His early experiences stood him in good stead in Denmark. After being educated by the monks of Saint-Germain-des-Pres in Paris under the direction of his uncle Hugh, he became a canon of the church of Sainte-Geneviève-du-Mont. But his fellow-canons were lax, and frequently mocked their new recruit for his disciplined life. They so disliked him that William was forced to resign and take a living at Epinay outside Paris.

Fortunately, Pope Eugenius III visited Paris in 1148, perceived the laxity of the canons of Sainte-Geneviève-du-Mont, and replaced them with more devout men. William rejoined the canons and became the sub-prior, where he reputation for canonical discipline and holiness grew and reached the ears of Bishop Axel or Absalom of Roskilde, Denmark. About 1170, the bishop sent a young Dane, Saxo Grammaticus, who became a leading historian, to invite William to undertake the reformation of the monasteries in his diocese. William accepted the invitation.

His early trials in Paris fitted him for reforming the abbey of Eskilsoë. William first expelled two monks, setting about the reformation of the rest. His enemies tried to overcome his zeal by appealing to powerful lords, but for 30 years William unflinchingly persisted, in spite of inner strain and painful illnesses. He also founded the Abbey of St. Thomas in Aebelhold (Ebelholt), Zeeland.

William sanctified himself by a life of prayer and austere mortification, added to the suffering caused by extreme poverty and a severe climate. He wore a hair-shirt, lay on straw, and fasted every day. Imbued with a deep sense of the greatness and sanctity of our mysteries, he never approached the altar without watering it with his tears, offering himself to God in the spirit of adoration and sacrifice.

About 1194, William went to Rome on behalf of Ingelburga, sister of the Danish king, who had been repudiated by her husband, King Philip Augustus of France, but he returned to Eskilsoë to die