William of Montferrat (in Italian,Guglielmo di Monferrato) was probably a member of the family of theMarquesses of Montferrat.
As a young man, staying in the house ofUgolino de' Conti while observingLent inRome in 1215 or 1216, he encounteredDominic of Osma. They discussed Christian ministry, and talked of future missionary work amongPrussians or other northern pagans. William afterwards spent two years at theUniversity of Paris. In June 1219 Dominic came to Paris and enrolled William in theOrder of Friars Preachers. Leaving Paris in July, Dominic and William travelled with a third Friar, known only as John (Iohannes), toMilan andBologna. Leaving John there, they went on toFlorence andViterbo, where they foundPope Honorius III. William now remained with the Pope and gained his close trust, but was at Bologna in summer 1221 when Dominic died. He was one of the witnesses at the process of Dominic's canonisation at Bologna in 1233.
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