Public Masses have been suspended to help delay the spread of the coronavirus. Our arts editor was at the final service held in Westminster Cathedral before the shutdown

Public Masses have been suspended to help delay the spread of the coronavirus. Our arts editor was at the final service held in Westminster Cathedral before the shutdown

“Will your cardinal be doing the Mass?” asked a friend whom I had met for a walk in Hyde Park on Friday afternoon. (Don’t judge me; Friday last week was another century. We are all amazed at what we still thought was OK a few short days ago.)

Hmm, I wondered. London was already closing around us; we struggled to find anywhere for a cup of tea, and when we sat down we were immediately told the café was closing. The streets were empty; there seemed more homeless people around Westminster Plaza but, really, it was the normal number. The non-homeless people were missing – they’d gone home – so the homeless ones, and their vulnerability, were more visible.

As 5.30 p.m. neared there was a steady trickle of people through the cathedral doors, some of them looking out of habit for the holy water stoop, before remembering it would be dry. Most were alone, but I saw one family of four, all wearing face masks. A young guy with a beard arrived clutching his skateboard under his arm. Some were elderly, walking sticks in hand; they edged on to the chairs, keeping a distance from one another. In the past it might have looked stand-offish; in the new normal, it is caring and kind.

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