Richard of Chichester

Richard of Chichester, also known as Saint Richard, was a Bishop from Wales. He died in 1253 and was declared a saint by the Church in 1262.

Early life

Richard was born in Chichester, Wales in the year 1197. When his parents died his older brother inherited the land. But he wasn’t old enough to be allowed to run it and by the time he was old enough he couldn’t afford the inheritance tax. So Richard ended up working for him on his farm. Richard had an arranged marriage to a woman that he didn’t want to marry. So he left the estate to study at the University of Oxford. In 1235, Richard became the chancellor of Oxford.

Later life

In 1237, Richard’s tutor Edmund of Abingdon became the Archbishop of Canterbury. He appointed Richard as priest of Canterbury. Edmund wanted the Pope to have more power than the king so King Henry III of England exiled him to France. Richard went to France to join him.

In 1240, Edmund died. In 1242, Richard came back to England after studying theology with the Dominican Order. In 1244, Richard was elected Bishop of Chichester but King Henry III refused to accept that he was so Pope Innocent IV appointed Richard Bishop of Lyons in 1245. When Richard came back to Chichester in 1247, King Henry made it against the law for anyone to give Richard any food or let him into any house. Richard was known for wanting a crusade.

Richard died in 1253 in Dover.