ST. RICHARD OF WESSEX, THE PILGRIM CONFESSOR OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS (FEB. 7TH)

St. Richard of Wessex, Pilgrim, Confessor and Humble King

Edited by Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

In the ling history of the English Patrimony, St. Richard of Wessex stands as a model of Christian piety, humility, and pilgrimage. Though little is known of his life from contemporary sources, his memory has been kept alive in the prayers of the faithful, the veneration of the Church, and the steadfast witness of his children, who themselves became saints. As a prince of Wessex, he forsook worldly honors to seek a heavenly inheritance, undertaking a journey of faith that would end not in earthly glory but in the eternal kingdom of God. 

A Pilgrim and a Prince

St. Richard was an English prince of the royal house of Wessex, living in the early eighth century AD. His name is not found in early royal genealogies, yet his many children - including St. Willibald, St. Winibald, and St. Walburga - would become some of the most renowned missionaries of the Anglo-Saxon Church. Unlike many rulers of his time, Richard did not seek dominion through conquest but through sanctity, raising his children in the fear of the Lord and guiding them toward a life of holiness through holy management of the household of faith. 

Moved by an inward calling, Richard renounced his princely rights and took upon himself the life of a pilgrim. He set out for Rome with his two sons, seeking the apostolic shrines and desiring the heavenly wisdom that came from venerating the relics of the saints and discussing theology with holy men. His pilgrimage was not a journey of mere devotion but an act of profound obedience, reflecting the words of our Lord: “He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it” (Matt. 10:39). His pilgrimage was no mere journey, but a process of finding deeper faith and holiness by ascetic practice. 

A Contemporary Icon by Brian Whirledge 

A Roman Prayercard for “Richard the King” 

St. Richard and his Saintly Sons

St. Richard as a Patriarch of both Anglo-Saxon and Germanic Churches

A More Traditional English Icon

The Altar at the Shrine of St. Richard the King of Wessex, Confessor of Lucca

His Holy Death in Lucca

Richard never completed his earthly pilgrimage. While traveling through Italy, he fell ill and died in the city of Lucca. There, in the Church of San Frediano, his mortal body was laid to rest, and his sanctity was soon recognized by the faithful as many miracles were done by the Spirit at Richard’s earthly tomb. His tomb became a place of veneration, and many miracles were attributed to his intercession. The people of Lucca, recognizing in him a man of God, began to honor him as a saint, even though he had never held ecclesiastical office nor performed great public deeds. In the eyes of the world, he was an obscure pilgrim; in the eyes of heaven, he was a confessor of the faith. 

His children, continuing the path he had begun, went on to play a crucial role in the evangelization of Germany. St. Willibald became the first bishop of Eichstätt, St. Winibald a monastic reformer, and St. Walburga a great abbess, all working alongside St. Boniface, the Apostle to the Germans. Through this holy Anglo-Saxon Christian family, many Germans came to know and love the One True God! In his faithful children, St. Richard’s spiritual legacy bore fruit a hundredfold. 

The Meaning of His Sainthood

St. Richard’s sanctity was not marked by a martyr’s blood, the pen of a poet, nor the learned disputations of a theologian. His holiness lay in his humility, his obedience, and his unwavering pursuit of Christ. He laid aside his kingly throne, and pursued Christ, the humble Lord who had nowhere to lay His head. He was a prince who chose the pilgrim’s staff over the royal scepter, a father who guided his children not to earthly power but to the heavenly kingdom. 

The Church calls him a holy “Confessor,” one who bore witness to the faith not through suffering death for Christ but through the quiet offering of his life in service to God. In this, he stands with the great penitents and pilgrims of Christendom, those who, like Abraham, “went out, not knowing whither he went” (Heb. 11:8), trusting in the promise of the City of God. 

COLLECT

O ALMIGHTY GOD, who didst guide thy servant Richard from the fleeting honors of this world unto the eternal pilgrimage of thy kingdom: grant that we, following his example of humility and devotion, may so set our affections on things above that, forsaking all vain ambition, we may find our rest in thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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