About Us
St Richard of Chichester – Our Patron
St Richard of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
Died – 3rd April 1253
Also known as: Richard de Wych, Richard Backedine, Richard of Wych.
Memorial: 3rd April, celebrated 16th June.
Profile: Second son of Richard and Alice de Wych. His father died when he was young. The family fell upon hard times, he took over management of the estates and brought them back. Educated at Oxford, Paris and Bologna. Chancellor of Oxford. Legal advisor to Saint Edmund Rich and Saint Boniface of Savoy, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Priest. Bishop of Chichester. Miracles and cures occurred at his shrine in Chichester. His patronage of coachmen began with the Milanese Guild of Coachmen, possibly because Richard drove carts and wagons on the family farm.
Born: 1197 as Richard de Wych of Droitwich, Worcestershire, England.
Died: 3rd April 1253 at Dover, England.
Canonized: 1262 by Pope Urban IV.
Patronage: Coachmen.
Representation: Bishop with a chalice on its side at his feet because he once dropped the chalice during a Mass and nothing spilled from it; kneeling with the chalice before him; ploughing his brother’s fields; a bishop blessing his flock with a chalice nearby.
St Richard’s Prayer:
Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ
For all the benefits you have given me
For the pains and insults
Which you has borne for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother
May I know you more clearly
Love you more dearly
Follow you more nearly
Day by Day. Amen.