A religious order is withdrawing from a London parish after serving it for almost nine decades.
The 400-strong congregation at St Francis de Sales Church at Hampton Hill and Upper Teddington were told last Sunday that the Missionaries of St Francis de Sales (MSFS) could no longer supply a priest.
The current incumbent, Fr Philip Baptiste, has been transferred to another of the order's parishes in Devizes, Wiltshire.
Patrick Ferguson, one of the congregation, said: "We have been left in limbo and there were fears the church might close. Fr Baptiste has been going backwards and forwards to Devizes for several weeks now, then the bombshell was dropped on Sunday."
A spokesman for the Westminster diocese confirmed that it had taken over responsibility for providing an officiating priest. "There is no question that the church will close," he said.
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