Richard of Chichester (1197 – 3 April 1253), also known as Richard de Wych, is a saint (

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

1262) who was Bishop of Chichester. In

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of ...

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

dedicated to Richard had become a richly decorated centre of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. In 1538, during the reign of Henry VIII, the shrine was plundered and destroyed by order of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...

. Richard of Chichester is the patron saint of Sussex in southern England; since 2007, his translated saint's day of 16 June has been celebrated as Sussex Day.

Life

Richard was born in Burford, near the town of Wyche (modern

Droitwich Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. The ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

) and was an orphan member of a gentry family.Greenway. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 5: pp. 1-6. On the death of their parents Richard's elder brother was heir to the estates but he was not old enough to inherit, so the lands were subject to a feudal wardship. On coming of age his brother took possession of his lands, but was required to pay a medieval form of death duty that left the family so impoverished that Richard had to work for him on the farm.Lower. The Worthies of Sussex. p. 242 His brother also made Richard heir to the estate. According to Richard's biographers, friends tried to arrange a match with a ''certain noble lady''. However Richard rejected the proposed match, suggesting that his brother might marry her instead; he also reconveyed the estates back to his brother, preferring a life of study and the church.Lower. The Worthies of Sussex. pp. 242-243 Educated at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, Richard soon began to teach in the university. From there he proceeded to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and then

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, where he distinguished himself by his proficiency in canon law. On returning to England in 1235, Richard was elected Oxford's chancellor.Stephens. Memorials. pp. 84 - 85. His former tutor,

Edmund of Abingdon Edmund of Abingdon (also known as Edmund Rich, St Edmund of Canterbury, Edmund of Pontigny, French: St Edme; c. 11741240) was an English-born prelate who served as Archbishop of Canterbury. He became a respected lecturer in mathematics, diale ...

, had become archbishop of Canterbury.Farmer. Richard of Chichester ''in'' Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Available Onlin
Retrieved 12 March 2011
Richard shared Edmund's ideals of clerical reform and supported papal rights even against the king. In 1237, Archbishop Edmund appointed Richard chancellor of the

diocese of Canterbury The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Church o ...

. Richard joined the archbishop during his exile at

Pontigny Pontigny () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. Sight Its principal distinction is as the home of Pontigny Abbey. See also *Communes of the Yonne department The following is a list of t ...

, and was with him when the archbishop died circa 1240. Richard then decided to become a priest and studied theology for two years with the Dominicans at

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Upon returning to England, Richard became the parish priest at

Charing Charing is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, in south-east England. It includes the settlements of Charing Heath and Westwell Leacon. It is located at the foot of the North Downs and reaches up to the escarpment. T ...

and at

Deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, ...

, but soon was reappointed chancellor of Canterbury by the new archbishop Boniface of Savoy. In 1244 Richard was elected Bishop of Chichester. Henry III and part of the chapter refused to accept him, the king favouring the candidature of

Robert Passelewe Robert Passelewe (or Robert Papelew; died 1252) was a medieval Bishop of Chichester elect as well as being a royal clerk and Archdeacon of Lewes.Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 5: Chichester: Bishops' Life Passelewe was ...

(d. 1252). Archbishop Boniface refused to confirm Passelew, so both sides appealed to the pope. The king confiscated the see's properties and revenues, but

Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

confirmed Richard's election and consecrated him bishop at Lyons in March 1245.Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 239 Richard then returned to Chichester, but the king refused to restore the see's properties for two years, and then did so only after being threatened with

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

. Henry III forbade anyone to house or feed Richard. At first, Richard lived at Tarring in the house of his friend Simon, the parish priest of Tarring, visited his entire diocese on foot, and cultivated figs in his spare time. Richard's private life was supposed to have displayed rigid frugality and temperance. Richard was an ascetic who wore a hair-shirt and refused to eat off silver. He kept his diet simple and rigorously excluded animal flesh; having been a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

since his days at Oxford. Richard was merciless to usurers, corrupt clergy and priests who mumbled the Mass. He was also a stickler for clerical privilege. Richard's

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

was marked by the favour which he showed to the Dominicans, a house of this order at Orléans having sheltered him during his stay in France, and by his earnestness in preaching a crusade. After dedicating St Edmund's Chapel at Dover, he died aged 56 at the Maison Dieu, Dover at midnight on 3 April 1253, where the Pope had ordered him to preach a crusade. His internal organs were removed and placed in that chapel's altar. Richard's body was then carried to Chichester and buried, according to his wishes, in the chapel on the north side of the nave, dedicated to his patron St. Edmund.Atkinson. Chichester Cathedral: The Shrine of St Richard (Retroquire). pp.16-18 His remains were translated to a new shrine in 1276.

Episcopal statutes

After the full rights of the see and its revenues were returned to him in 1246, the new bishop showed much eagerness to reform the manners and morals of his clergy, and also to introduce greater order and reverence into the services of the Church.Stephens. Memorials of The See at Chichester pp.87-93 Richard overruled Henry on several occasions. Richard defrocked a priest who had seduced a nun out of her convent, turning aside a petition from the king in the priest's favour.Lower. The Worthies of Sussex. p. 244 Richard was militant in protecting the clergy from abuse. The townsmen of Lewes violated the right of

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

by seizing a criminal in church and lynching him, and Richard made them exhume the body and give it a proper burial in consecrated ground. He also imposed severe penance on

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s who attacked priests. Richard produced a body of statutes with the aid of his chapter, for the organisation of the church in his diocese and the expected conduct of its clergy. It seems that many of the clergy still secretly married, though such alliances were not recognised by canon law, and as such their women's status was that of a mistress or concubine. The Bishop endeavoured to suppress the practice in his diocese with relentless austerity. By Richard's statutes he following is a close paraphrase not an exact quote

It was decreed that married clergy should be deprived of their benefices; their
concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...
were to be denied the privileges of the church during their lives and also after death; they were pronounced incapable of inheriting any property from their husbands, and any such bequests would be donated for the upkeep of the cathedral. A vow of chastity was to be required of candidates for ordination. Rectors were expected to reside in their parishes, to be hospitable and charitable and tithes were to be paid on all annual crops. Anyone who did not pay their tithe would not be granted penance until they did.

Vicars A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
were to be priests and have only one freehold to live on, they were not allowed to have another parish held under an assumed name.

Deacons A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
were not to be allowed to receive confessions or to provide penances, or to baptise except in the absence of a priest. Children had to be confirmed within a year of baptism. The
Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...
and the
Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
were to be learned in the mother tongue; priests were to celebrate mass in clean robes, to use a silver or golden
chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...
; thoroughly clean corporals and at least two consecrated palls were to be placed on the altar; the cross was to be planted in front of the celebrant; the bread was to be of the purest wheaten flour, the wine mixed with water. The elements were not to be kept more than seven days; when carried to a sick person to be enclosed in a
pyx A pyx or pix ( la, pyxis, transliteration of Greek: ''πυξίς'', boxwood receptacle, from ''πύξος'', box tree) is a small round container used in the Catholic, Old Catholic and Anglican Churches to carry the consecrated host (Eucharist) ...
, and the priest to be preceded by a cross; a candle, holy water and bell.
Practices such as gambling at baptisms and marriages is strictly forbidden.
Archdeacons were to administer justice for their proper fees, not demanding more either for rushing or delaying the business. They were to visit the churches regularly, to see that the services were duly ministered, the vessels and vestments are in proper order, the canon of the mass correctly observed and distinctly read, as also the ''hours''. Priests who clipped or slurred the words by rushing were to be suspended.
The clergy should wear their proper dress and not imitate what the lay people wore. They were not allowed to wear their hair long or have romantic entanglements. The names of excommunicated persons to be read out four times a year in the parish churches.
A copy of these statutes was to be kept by every priest in the diocese and be brought by him to the episcopal synod.

Shrine

Tapestry in Chichester Cathedral - geograph

It was generally believed that miracles were wrought at Richard's tomb in Chichester cathedral, which was long a popular place of pilgrimage, and in 1262, just 9 years after his death, he was canonized at

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

Pope Urban IV Pope Urban IV ( la, Urbanus IV; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death. He was not a cardinal; only a few popes since his time hav ...

.* Richard's feast day is on 3 April in the West, but because this date generally falls within Lent or Eastertide this is normally translated to 16 June in some provinces of the Anglican Communion (the Anglican Church of Canada, for example, commemorates Richard on 3 April), which venerates St. Richard more widely than does the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Richard is remembered in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

with a

Lesser Festival Lesser Festivals are a type of observance in the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast, Principal Holy Day, or Festival, but more significant than a Commemoration. Whereas Prin ...

16 June Events Pre-1600 * 363 – Emperor Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal, Roman forces suffer several attacks from the Persians. * 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king ...

. Richard furnished the chronicler,

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...

, with material for the life of St. Edmund Rich, and instituted the offerings for the cathedral at Chichester which were known later as "St. Richard's pence". During the episcopate of the first Anglican bishop of Chichester,

Richard Sampson Richard Sampson (died 25 September 1554) was an English clergyman and composer of sacred music, who was Anglican bishop of Chichester and subsequently of Coventry and Lichfield. Biography He was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, the Paris S ...

, King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, through his

Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

ordered the destruction of Richard's shrine in

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

cathedral in 1538.Tatton-Brown.Chichester Cathedral: Destruction, Repair and Restoration ''in'' Mary Hobbs. Chichester Cathedral: An Historic Survey. p.143. The shrine was demolished on Friday 20 November and all the silver, gold and jewels were ordered by Henty VIII to be taken to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

Forasmuch as we have lately been informed that in our cathedral church of Chichester there hath been used long heretofore, and yet at this day is used, much superstition and a certain kind of idolatry about the shrine and bones of a certain bishop of the same, whom they call Saint Richard, and a certain resort there of common people, which being men of simplicity are seduced by the instigation of some of the clergy, who take advantage of their credulity to ascribe miracles of healing and other virtues to the said bones, that God only hath authority to grant. . . . . We have appointed you, with all convenient diligence to repair unto the said cathedral church, and to take away the shrine and bones of that bishop called Saint Richard, with all ornaments to the said shrine belonging, and all other the reliques and reliquaries, the silver, the gold, and all the jewels belonging to said shrine, and that not only shall you see them to be safely and surely conveyed unto our Tower of London there to be bestowed and placed at your arrival, but also ye shall see both the place where the shrine was kept, destroyed even to the ground and all such other images of the said church, where about any notable superstition is used, to be carried and conveyed away, so that our subjects shall by them in no ways be deceived hereafter, but that they,pay to Almighty God and to no earthly creature such honour as is due unto him the Creator. . . . . Given under our privy seal at our manor of Hampton Court, the 14th day of Dec., in the 30th year of our reign (1538).
''Document issued by Thomas Cromwell on behalf of Henry VIII. ''Lower. Worthies of Sussex. pp. 249-250

The document ordering the destruction of the shrine was issued to a Sir William Goring of Burton and a William

Ernley Ernle was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay. Origins Onomastic Onomasticians say that t ...

.John Fines. Cathedral and Reformation ''in'' Hobbs. Chichester Cathedral. pp. 61-62 They received £40 for carrying out the commission on 20 December 1538. Breviary, circa 1300

The Shrine of St. Richard had, up to this point, enjoyed a level of popularity approaching that accorded to

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

at Canterbury. It seems that someone associated with the parish of

West Wittering West Wittering is a village and civil parish situated on the Manhood Peninsula in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies near the mouth of Chichester Harbour on the B2179 road southwest of Chichester close to the border with Ha ...

in Sussex, possibly William Ernley, using his position as royal commissioner for the destruction of St. Richard's Shrine, may have spirited away the relics and bones of St. Richard and hidden them in their own parish church, as there are persistent legends of the presence there, of the remains of the saint:

The Lady Chapel not only contains the Saxon Cross but also an ancient broken marble slab engraved with a Bishop's pastoral staff and a Greek cross believed to have come from a reliquary containing the relics of St. Richard of Chichester, a 13th century bishop who often visited West Wittering. Part of his story is shown in the beautiful red, white and gold altar frontal presented by Yvonne Rusbridge in 1976. On the left St Richard is shown feeding the hungry in Cakeham and on the right leading his followers from the church, his candle miraculously alight despite the gust of wind which blew out all the other candles.
Extract from the description of the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, West Wittering.

The modern St Richard's Shrine is located in the retro-quire of Chichester cathedral and was re-established in 1930 by Dean Duncan Jones.Foster. Richard of Chichester. p. 65 In 1987 during the restoration of the Abbey of La Lucerne, in Normandy, the lower part of a man's arm was discovered in a reliquary, the relic was thought to be Richard's.Mary Foster. The relic ''in'' Paul Fosters. Richard of Chichester. pp. 70-73 After examination, to establish its provenance, the relic was offered to Bishop Eric Kemp and received into the cathedral on 15 June 1990. The relic was buried in 1991 below the St Richard altar. A further relic, together with an authentication certificate, was offered from Rome at the same time and is now housed at the bishop's chapel in Chichester. The modern shrine of Richard contains an altar that was designed by Robert Potter, a tapestry designed by Ursula Benker-Schirmer (partly woven in her studio in Bavaria and partly at the West Dean College) and an icon designed by Sergei Fyodorov that shows St Richard in episcopal vestments, his hand raised in blessing towards the viewer, but also in supplication to the figure of Christ who appears to him from heaven .

Prayer

Richard is widely remembered today for the popular

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...

ascribed to him:

''Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ''
''For all the benefits Thou hast given me,''
''For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne for me.''
''O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother,''
''May I know Thee more clearly,''
''Love Thee more dearly,''
''Follow Thee more nearly.''Bullock-Webster. p.3
''Acts and Devotion''. Prayer 48.
Retrieved 18 June 2013

Richard is supposed to have recited the prayer on his deathbed, surrounded by the clergy of the diocese.Mike Stone. The St Richard Prayer ''in'' Fosters. Richard of Chichester (1197 - 1253) pp.78-83 The words were transcribed, in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, by his confessor Ralph Bocking, a Dominican friar, and were eventually published in the ''

Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. The project w ...

'', an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints. The

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

copy, contains what is believed to be Bocking's transcription of the prayer:

''Gratias tibi ago, Domine Jesu Christe, de omnibus beneficiis quae mihi praestitisti;''
''pro poenis et opprobriis, quae pro me pertulisti;''
''propter quae planctus ille lamentabilis vere tibi competebat.''
''Non est dolor similis sicut dolor meus.''Acta Sanctorum. Vol 10.
Tertia Aprilis. p. 281. Caput III. 18. Retrieved 30 April 2012

Chichester Cathedral and St Richard - geograph

Whoever translated the Latin into English was obviously skilled in his craft as he managed to produce a rhyming triplet, namely ''"clearly, dearly, nearly"''. However, versions of St Richard's prayer, before the 20th century, did not contain the triplet and it is thought that the first version that did was published in ''"The Churchmans Prayer Manual"'' by G.R.Bullock-Webster in 1913. The first use of the rhyming triplet in a hymn was in the ''"Mirfield Mission Hymnbook"'' of 1922, and the first use of the phrase ''"Day by Day"'' was in the ''"Songs of Praise, Enlarged Edition"'' published in 1931.Vaughan Williams.''Songs of Praise, Enlarged Edition''. Hymn 399. Tune: ''Stonethwaite'' by Arthur Somervell The author who is credited with translating the prayer from the original ''Acta Sanctorum'' and bringing it to public notice, was Cecil Headlam in 1898.Headlam. ''Prayers of Saints.'' pp.v - viii The following version in the ''"Prayers of Saints"'' is quite different from the one that is familiar today :

''THE DYING PRAYER OF S. RICHARD, ''
''Bishop of Chichester.''
''LORD JESU CHRIST, I thank Thee for ''
''all the blessings Thou hast given me, ''
''and for all the sufferings and shame Thou ''
''didst endure for me, on which account that ''
''pitiable cry of sorrow was Thine : " Behold and ''
''see, if there was any sorrow like unto My ''
''sorrow ! " Thou knowest, Lord, how willing ''
''I should be to bear insult, and pain, and death ''
''for Thee ; therefore have mercy on me, for to ''
''Thee do I commend my spirit. Amen''Headlam. ''Prayers of Saints.'' pp.33 - 34

The prayer was adapted for the song ''"Day by Day"'' in the musical ''Godspell (1971)'', with music by

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...

. The words used, with a few embellishments, were based on the following from ''"Songs of Praise, Enlarged Edition"'':

''Day by day,''
''Dear Lord, of thee three things I pray:''
''To see thee more clearly,''
''Love thee more dearly,''
''Follow thee more nearly,''
''Day by Day.''

A portion of the prayer has been incorporated into the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church for use by the

personal ordinariate A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." ...

s established to bring the Anglican patrimony into the Church. Observance of the memorial of Saint Richard of Chichester on 16 June is inscribed in the calendar of Divine Worship: The Missal and the following

Collect The collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. Collects appear in the liturgies of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches, among othe ...

is provided:

''MOST merciful Redeemer,''
''who gavest to thy Bishop Richard a love of learning,''
''a zeal for souls, and a devotion to the poor:''
''grant that, encouraged by his example,''
''and aided by his prayers,''
''we may know thee more clearly,''
''love thee more dearly,''
''and follow thee more nearly,''
''day by day;''
''who livest and reignest with the Father''
''in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God,''
''world without end. Amen.''

Current patronage and festivals

Richard is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the county of Sussex in England. Since 2007, his translated

saint's day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

, 16 June, has been celebrated as Sussex Day. Richard is honoured with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on 3 April, which is also the date for his commemoration in the new Roman Martyrology of 2004 for the Roman Catholic Church.

Notes

References

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External links

Biography of St Richard of Chichester
from ''Catholic Online''

from ''Catholic Encyclopedia''

from ''The Lives of the Saints'' by

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

St. Richard's RC Parish, ChichesterThe Parish Church of St Richard, Aldwick
in memory of St Richard, Bishop of Chichester 1244-1253
St. Richard's Catholic Parish, Creve Coeur, Missouri, USA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard Of Chichester 1197 births 1253 deaths Bishops of Chichester People from Droitwich Spa Chancellors of the University of Oxford 13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops 13th-century Christian saints Medieval English saints Pre-Reformation Anglican saints English Roman Catholic saints 1190s births Anglican saints