St William of York

Lawrence OP
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St William of York
St William of York

"William Fitzherbert was born at the end of the eleventh century into a position of favour and wealth, and was a nephew of the future King Stephen. In his early days he received a good education and when he took holy orders, he became the treasurer of the cathedral church of York. Even if he received this office through patronage, it was generally agreed that he carried it out with wisdom and charity.

This was the time of the accession of King Stephen and the civil war with Queen Maud, with all the disastrous effects that it was bound to have on the government of the Church in England. When William was elected to the archbishopric of York in 1140, his election was challenged by supporters of the Queen because of his family relationship with the King. So began a dispute over his position as archbishop that was to continue almost until the time of William’s own death. Some accounts would suggest that he was ill-served by his advisers and suffered the disadvantages of having too many politically minded relatives in positions of authority. But he himself would seem to have lived an exemplary life and was even careless of his own interests. Although Pope Innocent II upheld the appointment, the next Pope Eugenius III suspended him from his duties on the advice of no less than St Bernard of Clairvaux and another candidate was appointed to the See of York.

William retired for seven years to Winchester where his uncle was bishop and papal legate and lived there quietly without complaint. It was only when his successor at York died and he was again elected to the archbishopric that he travelled to Rome and received the pallium from Pope Anastasius IV. On his return to England, William was mild and conciliatory towards his former enemies and well-liked by his flock. But he had hardly begun work in the city of York when he was taken ill and died in 1154. He was buried in his cathedral and the solemn translation of his relics took place in 1283."

Stained glass of the Saint, whose feast is on 8 June, from the chapel of Ushaw College, Durham.

Attribution Noncommercial No Derivative Works Some rights reserved
Taken on: June 12, 2014
Tags: Everybody's photos tagged with Ushaw Ushaw Everybody's photos tagged with College College Everybody's photos tagged with St Cuthbert's St Cuthbert's more » Everybody's photos tagged with chapel chapel Everybody's photos tagged with stained glass stained glass Everybody's photos tagged with William William Everybody's photos tagged with York York Everybody's photos tagged with Archbishop Archbishop Everybody's photos tagged with saint saint Everybody's photos tagged with Minster Minster « less
Sets appears in:   • Stained Glass    • St Cuthbert's, Ushaw   
Groups appears in:   • Stained Glass Windows    • sanctus: male saints    more » • Saints - Santi - Santos    • Vitraux    • Saints and their symbols    • Church Windows    • Vidrieras    • Witraż - Vitrail - Stained Glass    « less
Camera: Canon EOS 60D, f/8.0, 1/100 sec, 128mm, ISO 640 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Canon EOS 60D
Lens: EF70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure Time: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length: 128mm
ISO: 640
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: sRGB
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)
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