Gualterio or Walter (†1099)

Biography

He entered the abbey of Rebais, and twelve years later he was elected abbot of Saint-Martin de Pointoise. Very soon he endeared himself to all the monks, however, he felt incapable of taking first place, and therefore, taking advantage of a night of the new moon, he surreptitiously left Pontoise to take refuge in Cluny. He lived under an assumed name until the day his monks discovered his whereabouts and happily returned him to Pontoise. He stayed there for a few weeks, but fled again and settled on an islet in the Loire, near Tours. A pilgrim who discovered his identity and warned the religious of Saint-Martin put an end to his life as a hermit. He had no other option but to turn to the Pope. He left for Rome expecting that Gregory VII, duly informed of his indignity, would accept his resignation. But the pope did not allow himself to be convinced, he gave the holy man his best blessings and forced him to return, forbidding him to leave his post again, which Galterio carried out to the letter.