Which St. William? Every Saint Named William

Curated and reviewed by Pastor Lyvers

Which St. William? 11 saints and blesseds named William have full entries in this encyclopedia. They are listed below with their dates, feast days and a line on who each one was, arranged century by century.

A name carries a story, and many holy men and women have carried this one. Whether you are choosing a baptismal or confirmation name, looking for the saint behind a parish or a feast, or simply trying to tell one St. William from another, we hope this page helps you find the right one, and that you will ask that saint's prayers along the way. Among the best loved are Blessed William Carter, Blessed William Davies and Blessed William Joseph Chaminade.

9th century

  • St. William of Gellone c. 755–c. 812 · Feast day May 28

    St. William of Gellone (Guilhem, about 755–812) was a cousin of Charlemagne, Count of Toulouse and a leading Frankish commander against the Muslim armies of Spain.

12th century

  • St. William of York died 1154 · Feast day June 8

    St. William of York (William Fitzherbert, died 1154) was an Archbishop of York accused of simony, opposed by St. Bernard and the Cistercians, deposed, and restored a few weeks before his sudden death.

  • St. William of Maleval died 1157 · Feast day February 10

    St. William of Maleval (died 1157) was a penitent hermit of Tuscany, probably French, who after a wild youth as a soldier went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and then lived in fierce penance in a lonely valley called…

13th century

  • St. William of Perth died 1201 · Feast day May 23

    St. William of Perth was a Scottish baker who gave every tenth loaf to the poor and raised a foundling as his own son.

16th century

  • Blessed William Carter 1548–1584 · Feast day January 11

    Blessed William Carter (1548–1584) was a London printer who produced Catholic books in secret under Queen Elizabeth I.

  • Blessed William Way died 1588 · Feast day September 23

    Blessed William Way (died 1588) was an English seminary priest, ordained in France in 1586, who was arrested in Surrey within months of his return and hanged, drawn and quartered at Kingston upon Thames for being a…

  • Blessed William Davies died 1593 · Feast day July 27

    Blessed William Davies (died 1593) was a Welsh priest from North Wales, ordained in 1585, who worked secretly among his own people until he was arrested at Holyhead in 1592 while sending four young men to the seminary…

17th century

  • Blessed William Richardson c. 1572–1603 · Feast day February 17

    Blessed William Richardson (about 1572–1603), who used the alias Anderson, was a Yorkshire-born priest trained at Reims, Valladolid and Seville.

  • Blessed William Ward c. 1560–1641 · Feast day July 26

    Blessed William Ward (about 1560–1641), whose real name was William Webster, became a priest in his forties and spent some twenty years of his priesthood in prison.

  • Blessed William Tirry 1608–1654 · Feast day May 12

    Blessed William Tirry (1608–1654) was an Augustinian friar from Cork who ministered in secret after Cromwell's conquest of Ireland.

19th century

  • Blessed William Joseph Chaminade 1761–1850 · Feast day January 22

    Blessed William Joseph Chaminade (1761–1850) was a French priest who ministered in secret during the French Revolution, spent three years in exile in Zaragoza, and came home to found the Marianist family: lay…

The Saint Index also holds basic records for 45 more saints and blesseds named William. Search every saint named William →

Other names saints share: Mary, Peter, Joseph and more →