Wilhelm of Manderscheid-Kail
Wilhelm von Manderscheid-Kail († 1546) was Abbot of Stablo-Malmedy from 1499 to 1546, as well as from 1513 to 1546 of the Abbey of Prüm. Because of his reform activity, he is partly regarded as "second founder" by Stablo and Malmedy. Edit LifeQualtext
He was the son of the father of the same name who was the founder of the line Manderscheid-Kail. The mother was Adelheid of Moers.
His predecessor, Abbot Jasper, had proved too weak to protect the abbey effectively against the more powerful neighbors. Therefore, the monks of the two monasteries chose Stablo and Malmedy Wilhelm von Manderscheid as successors because they hoped that their family connections offered better protection. He was not a monk but a layman.
After a time of decline, Wilhelm von Manderscheid in Stablo and Malmedy began a revival of monastic life. He oriented himself on the worship and statutes at the Bursfelder Congregation. The Abbey officially joined the Congregation in 1654.
With the support of Charles V and the deputy of Henry of Nassau, he succeeded in regaining control over the county log of the family of the Mark. Heinrich von Nassau has laid a log for this and fired with cannons. He was the first abbot who also bore the title of Count of Logne.
Because the old castle of Stablo was now only a ruin, he had a new building built in 1525. The archives and the financial administration were also housed there. There he was able to entertain King Ferdinand, who was to visit in 1540. He set up the west tower at the abbey church in Stablo. In Malmedy, he had the Reconstructed 1482 destroyed abbey and the church destroyed by fire 1500. In 1504, he directed the St. Gereons source to Malmedy.
Since 1513, Wilhelm also took the same position as a laity abbot in the Abbey of Prüm. However, only a part of the monks chose him. Others held to Gregor von Homburg. When he died shortly thereafter, Wilhelm was recognized by the entire convent. Also in Prüm he built a tower of the abbey church.
He appointed his young nephew, Christoph von Manderscheid-Kail, to the Coadjutor, who after the death of Wilhelm was actually Abbot of Stablo-Malmedy and Prüm. Edit source text
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