SAINT WILLIAM OF TOULOUSE AND COMPANIONS

Feast Day: May 29

Lived(d. 1242)

Pope Gregory IX sent William Arnaud, a Dominican, and some group of people to Toulouse, France, to combat the Albigensian heresy - where Christ is defined to have a dual nature; and the body is considered to be evil, therefore denying the humanity of Christ, rejecting the Sacraments and adopting the Pagan way of purification.

The people were hostile to the priests, so they stayed in a house in the surrounding country, making many converts, which upset Raymond III of Toulouse, the leader of the local government.

The Priests and others - eleven in all, some Franciscans, Benedictines, and a layman, were deceived into accepting an invitation to the local castle where seven of them were set upon and brutally slaughtered.

The remaining four, William Arnaud among them, escaped to a local church where they were found singing religious hymns.

Violating the medieval sanctuary was an unforgivable act at that time. This aroused their anger, so the soldiers first cut off William’s tongue, then killed them all.

The corpses were thrown in a ditch, but that night, light streamed from the dead bodies helping the faithful find their relics. They were interred in the Church of San Romano at the monastery in Toulouse.

The church in Avignonet where the martyrs had been murdered, was placed under lock and keys for years because of the sacrilege.

Many miracles recurred at their graves.