Will our churches ever reopen?

There used to be a joke, repeated by English tourists in deserted piazzas, that the Italian for church (chiesa) and for closed (chiusa) were almost the same. Whatever the orari on the door, you were always several hours out. And so you would consult your guidebook, admire in miniature the Ghirlandaio, the Lippi, the really very special fresco — and go for a consoling ice cream. The joke was told with the smug Anglo-Saxon certainty that our churches were open to all-comers from before breakfast until after vespers. Not so now. And not during the months we weren’t in lockdown — for all the bishops are protesting about the new one.

But even before the latest lockdown, it was hard to find an open church. Over the summer, my husband and I managed walking weekends in five counties. At every village church, we tried the latch. Chiusa. Chiusa. Chiusa. They were allowed to be open, but weren’t. One noticeboard gave dates and times of services — every third Sunday on rotation — and a sheet saying: ‘Prayers By Appointment Only.’ It might be the saddest sign I’ve ever seen. Our Father, who art in heaven — any chance you’ve got a slot next week?

Even on Sunday mornings, there was no guarantee you’d get in. A friend had the temerity to just turn up. A verger stood guard. ‘You’re not on the list,’ she said. There followed a pantomime of martyrdom about whether my friend could be ‘squeezed in’. The congregation numbered fewer than ten. There must be more Christian ways to keep track of Test and Trace. Now, with Lockdown II and services banned — private prayer is allowed — it’s hard to imagine churches opening their doors all day.