Saint Richard (1197-1253) former bishop of Chichester

.Richard Wych or Wich lost his parents, who were of a gentry family, when he was very young. He and his brother were left as orphans and cheated of their inheritance.
Richard was clever and became a student at Oxford University. In 1223 he became chancellor of the university. In 1233 he was whisked away by Saint Edmund Rich, the Archbishop of Canterbury to be his chancellor (1233-1240).

Edmund quarreled with King Henry III and went into exile in France where he died in 1240. Richard studied to be a priest at Orleans and came back to the UK to become a parish priest.

The new archbishop, Boniface of Savoy, asked him to become his chancellor and wanted him to become the archbishop of Chichester. The king was unhappy and declared no one should shelter him! With the intervention of Pope Innocent IV he became the archbishop.
He was a reforming archbishop, of simple habits, generous in his charities and held the post form 1245 until his death in 1253. He provided vicarages for his clergy but insisted they remained celibate - unmarried, said the Mass reverently and instructed their congregations in the meaning of the sacraments. He was aa kindly, good man who was much loved by all the people.

Included Richard’s prayer, and a black/white outline of Saint Richard.

Sources The Church’s Year by Charles Alexander and catholicireland website.