My name is Father Richard Whinder. I was born and grew up in South London (Bromley), and I am the eldest of five children. I love being part of a large family, and I now have a number of nieces and nephews, so the family grows ever larger! I attended local Catholic schools and later studied history at Kings College London. After University, I began training for the priesthood at the Venerable English College in Rome, and I was ordained a priest in 2001.
Since that time, I have worked in many different parts of the Archdiocese of Southwark – I was assistant priest in Canterbury, Norbury and New Malden, before becoming parish priest of St Mary Magdalen, Mortlake in 2010, where I remained for 7 years. In 2017 I was appointed parish priest of Holy Ghost in Balham.
I very much enjoy being the pastor of this lively and vibrant London parish, which is blessed with a very active congregation, including a large number of young families from many parts of the world. We are a diverse parish united in our Catholic Faith and that makes this parish a very joyful place in which to serve.