Saint Richard of Chichester

Richard de Wych was born around 1197 at Droitwich in England. After working hard to restore his family's struggling farm, he studied at Oxford, Paris and Bologna, and became chancellor of Oxford University. He then served as chancellor to Saint Edmund Rich, archbishop of Canterbury, and after Edmund's death he studied in France and was ordained a priest.

In 1244 he was elected bishop of Chichester, but King Henry III opposed him and seized the diocese's revenues. Richard lived for two years in a priest's house, visiting parishes on foot, until the pope upheld his election and the king gave way. As bishop he lived simply, insisted on reverent worship and well-trained clergy, and gave generously to the poor. While preaching a crusade, he died at Dover on April 3, 1253. He was canonized in 1262, and his shrine at Chichester became a popular place of pilgrimage.

Richard is honored in Chichester and in the town of Droitwich, where his memory is linked with the local salt springs. He is remembered too by English-speaking Catholics and Anglicans, and a simple prayer traditionally attributed to him became widely known through the musical Godspell.