St William of York

William grew up close to royal people. His mother was King William’s sister and his father worked for King Henry I. William grew up with a deep faith in God and when he was older he worked for the Church in York, not for the royal people like his Father did. He became a priest and the Pope made him the Archbishop of York. Even though he was a good man and a good Archbishop, some people said that he was doing bad things and they wanted the Pope to make William stop being the Archbishop of York. The Pope said no, but when this Pope died the new Pope, Eugene III, believed what people were saying and William was no longer allowed to be the Archbishop. He went to a quiet place and lived the life of a monk, praying and doing penance (doing hard things because you are sorry for your sins and for the sins of others). After Pope Eugene III died, William was again made the Archbishop of York, because the new Pope, Anastastius IV, realized that what had been said about William was all lies. He was only Archbishop for a short time though, because he died soon after returning to York. Some people think that his enemies poisoned him, but no one knows for sure. There were many miracles that happened when people came to see his tomb and ask for his prayers, so the Church knows that he was a holy man.