Today about a dozen of us went out to St. Guilhem-le-Desert, about 25 miles from Montpellier. What an amazing place! It is truly a unique treasure.
It began with a man — Guilhem — a cousin of Charlemagne who, having been victorious in various military campaigns, including victories over the Moors in Barcelona in 801, chose to lay down his arms and become a man of peace. Guilhem was awarded a piece of the cross of Jesus from Charlemagne (and the relic remains in the reliquary in the Abbey). Guilhem (William of Orange) created the Saint Sauveur monastery, and his legend — that of a great lord, conqueror, monk, and eventually, venerated saint — captured the imagination of people throughout the middle ages.
In the 11th Century, a village arose in the shadow of the monastery and was called Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert. This village was an important stop on one of the southern routes of the Santiago de Campostela Way, and many pilgrims still walk this route on their way to northwestern Spain.
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