Young, Richard

Second Bishop of Athabasca.

Richard Young was born in South Park, South Lincolnshire, England in 1843. He obtained a B.A. from Cambridge University in 1868, and was ordained deacon in Worcester Cathedral that year. He served as curate of Halesowen, England from 1868 to 1869, and was then ordained priest in Coventry. He was vicar of Fulstow, England from 1869 to 1872, then joined the Church Missionary Society as the organizing secretary for West Yorkshire. He married Julia Hentsley Harrison in 1873, and would go on to have four children with her. In 1875, he became the Incumbent of St. Andrew's, Manitoba, where he stayed until 1884. In addition, he was appointed to the finance committee of the Diocese of Rupert's Land from 1877 to 1885. In 1884, he was consecrated Bishop of Athabasca when William Carpenter Bompas asked to have his diocese divided. During his tenure, he tried to ensure the diocese would be financially independent, and worked extensively to minister to First Nations people of the area. He established a printing press in 1892, so scriptures could be published in Cree and Beaver languages; he attempted, unsuccessfully, to learn these languages himself, and encouraged other clergy members to do the same; he even criticized the government in the way they dealt with First Nations people. For all of that, he still was unsure of First Nations people becoming clergy members, and he believed that those who were mixed indigenous and european were "corrupted." In 1903, he resigned the See of Athabasca, and retired to Liverpool, England, due to poor health. He passed away in Kent in 1905.

Richard Young received an honourary D.D. from St. John's College, Winnipeg in 1884, and an honourary D.C.L. from the University of Trinity College in 1893.