3RD APRIL 2003
ST. RICHARD
BISHOP CONFESSOR (1197-1253)
LIFE:
Richard de Wych born . about 1197 at Droitwich, Worcestershire, from which his
surname is derived; . He was the second son of Richard and Alice de Wyche. His father
died while he was still young and the family property fell into a state of great
delapidation. His elder brother offered to resign the inheritance to him, but Richard
refused the offer, although he undertook the management of the estate and soon
restored it to a good condition. He went to Oxford, where he and two companions lived
in such poverty that they had only one tunic and hooded gown between them, in which
they attended lectures by turns. He then went to Paris and on his return proceeded
Master of Arts. At Bologna he studied canon law, in which he acquired a great
reputation and was elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
His learning and sanctity were so famed that Edmund Rich, Archbishop of
Canterbury, and Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, both offered him the post of
chancellor of their respective dioceses. Richard accepted the archbishop's offer and
thenceforward became St. Edmund's intimate friend and follower. He approved the
archbishop's action in opposing the king on the question of the vacant sees,
accompanied him in his exile to Pontigny, was present at Soissy when he died, and made
him a model in life. Richard supplied Matthew Paris with material for his biography,
and, after attending the translation of his relics to Pontigny in 1249, wrote an
account of the incident in a letter published by Matthew Paris (Historia major, V,
VI). Retiring to the house of the Dominicans at Orleans, Richard studied theology, was
ordained priest, and, after founding a chapel in honour of St. Edmund, returned to
England where he became Vicar of Deal and Rector of Charring. Soon afte!
rwards he was induced by Boniface of Savoy, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, to
resume his former office of chancellor.
In 1244 st.Richard was chosen bishop of Chichestor in preferance to
the King`s nominee, a court favourite , and he recieved his consecration
at Lyon at the hands of Pope Innocent IV.. He compiled a number of statutes
which regulate in great detail the lives of the clergy, the celebration of Divine
service, the administration of the sacraments, church privileges, and other matters.
Every priest in the diocese was bound to obtain a copy of these statutes and bring it
to the diocesan synod (Wilkins, "Concilia", I, 688-93); in this way the standard of
life among the clergy was raised considerably. For the better maintenance of his
cathedral Richard instituted a yearly collection to be made in every parish of the
diocese on Easter or Whit Sunday. The mendicant orders, particularly the Dominicans,
received special encouragement from him.
In 1250 Richard was named as one of the collectors of the subsidy for the crusades
(Bliss, "Calendar of Papal Letters", I, 263) and two years later the king appointed
him to preach the crusade in London. He made strenuous efforts to rouse enthusiasm for
the cause in the Dioceses of Chichester and Canterbury, and while journeying to Dover,
where he was to consecrate a new church dedicated to St. Edmund, he was taken ill.
Upon reaching Dover, he went to a hospital called "Maison Dieu", performed the
consecration ceremony on 2 April, but died the next morning. His body was taken back
to Chichester and buried in the cathedral. He was solemnly canonized by Urban IV in
the Franciscan church at Viterbo, 1262, and on 20 Feb. a papal licence for the
translation of his relics to a new shrine was given;
The most accurate version of St. Richard's will, which has
been frequently printed, is that given by Blaauw in "Sussex Archaeological
Collections", I, 164-92, with a translation and valuable notes. His life was written
by his confessor Ralph Bocking shortly after his canonization and another short life,
compiled in the fifteenth century, was printed by Capgrave. Both these are included in
the notice of St. Richard in the Bollandist "Acta Sanctorum".
REFLECTION:
**** Humility does not mean being timid or inhibited..It
means acknowledging our littleness in the eyes of God; a little child ,
a son.--"dynamism in our humility"-- because when a child accepting his
littleness , is helped by the all powerful protection of his Father, God,
there is a dynamism in him which overflows into works of faith , of
hope and of love, and of all the other virtues that the Holyspirit
infuses into his soul.***( Friends of God--st.Josemaria)
PRAYER BY ST. RICHARD:
Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ
For all the benefits Thou hast given me,
For all the pains and insults
Which Thou has borne for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother,
May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day. Amen."
**O Jesus ! Who for love of me,
Didst bear Thy Cross to Calvary ;
In Thy sweet mercy grant to me
To suffer & die with Thee...**
S.THOMAS
NOTTINGHAM
ENGLAND
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