Biography Page 2 of 3

When the archbishop retired, Richard accompanied him to the Cistercian monastery at Pontigny, France. Following Rich's death at Pontigny, Richard taught at the Dominican house of studies at Orleans. In 1243 he was ordained there.
Fr. Richard spent a short time as a parish priest, then returned to his former duties as Chancellor to the Archbishop of Canterbury, this time under Boniface of Savoy.

In 1244 the Bishop of Chichester died; controversy brewed in England when King Henry III named Ralph Neville as bishop of Chichester. Boniface declared King Henry's selection invalid and named Richard to the See. When King Henry III heard of Richard's election, he was furious and refused to give up the property and revenues of the See. The matter was taken to Rome and in 1245 Pope Innocent IV ruled in Richard's favor and consecrated him. And so it was, two years after being ordained a priest, Fr. Richard became a bishop. For several years, however, "like a stranger in a strange land," Richard became a wanderer in his own diocese. He was entirely dependent on the charity and hospitality of the people and clergy, who defied the King.

At last, in 1247, the King relented and, amid the rejoicing of the people, Richard came to his cathedral at Chichester. Richard's personal life was very simple, but he considered it his duty to keep the state proper to a bishop, and particularly to offer hospitality to rich and poor. Sometimes he was imposed upon, but the people loved him not only for his almsgiving but for his caring, his preaching, and the sweetness of his character. Richard was an able administrator as well as a holy man and expected high standards from the clergy, although he defended their rights.

Richard spent the remaining eight years of his life ministering to his flock. He denounced nepotism, insisted on strict clerical discipline and was generous to the poor and needy. He died at a house for poor priests in Dover, England, in 1253, while preaching a crusade. With friends Simon of Taring, William his Chaplain and Friar Ralph Bocking by his bedside, and surrounded by a crowd of priests, religious and laymen, Richard de la Wyche, Bishop of Chichester, dies at midnight on April 3, 1253. He was 56 years old.