Richard of Chichester

Saint

Richard of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
Stained glass image of St. Richard of Chichester at Church of St Saviour and St Peter, Eastbourne
Installed1244
Term ended1253
PredecessorRobert Passelewe
SuccessorJohn Climping
Other post(s)Vicar of Deal
Orders
Consecration5 March 1245
by Pope Innocent IV
Personal details
Born
Richard

c. 1197
Died3 April 1253
Dover, Kent, England
DenominationCatholic
Sainthood
Feast day3 April (Roman Catholic Church and some provinces of the Anglican Communion), 16 June (in some provinces of the Anglican Communion)
Venerated inCatholic Church
Anglican Communion
Title as SaintBishop and Confessor
Canonized25 January 1262
Viterbo, Lazio, Papal States
by Pope Urban IV
AttributesBishop 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
PatronageCoachmen; Diocese of Chichester; Sussex, England
ShrinesChichester Cathedral

Richard of Chichester (1197 – 3 April 1253), also known as Richard de Wych, is a saint (canonized 1262) who was Bishop of Chichester.

In Chichester Cathedral a shrine dedicated to Richard had become a richly decorated centre of pilgrimage. In 1538, during the reign of Henry VIII, the shrine was plundered and destroyed by order of Thomas Cromwell. 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.