WILLIAM PENN SQUARE, directly behind the Protestant Church, Saumur, Maine-et-Loire (France).
~ Imagine how surprised I was to be wandering the back streets of Saumur when I came upon this sign posted on a stuccoed wall! ~


William Penn ~ Born Oct. 14, 1644, London, Eng.—died July 30, 1718, Buckinghamshire.
William Penn was an English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe.
William Penn plays an important role in Philadelphia history!

In 1660 William entered the University of Oxford, where he rejected Anglicanism and was expelled in 1662 for his religious nonconformity.
Determined to thwart his son's religiosity, Admiral Penn sent his son on a grand tour of the European continent and to the Protestant college at Saumur to complete his studies.
While there, Penn was under the influence of one of the most distinguished Protestant theologians of the time ~ one of the few with whom Catholic theologians were willing to converse.

A series of events on May 19-22, 2011 commemorated the presence of William Penn [1644-1718] as a student in Saumur [1662-1664].
A square directly behind the Protestant church – a scheduled national monument – on the edge of the old town near the quarter where the Protestant Academy used to be located was named after William Penn.
A public day of lectures, readings and other activities culminating in the naming of the square were planned.