Good morning, the parish of San Leonardo Abate in Canigiano is seeking to reopen the church, which was closed due to damage from the earthquake of June 2013. There is no need to describe it - we all know that it's a small parish, one of the smallest in the area. We are approximately fifty residents, with our church at the centre of our hearts, and we would like to be able to reopen it, but in order to do so, costly renovation work needs to be carried out requiring approximately €100,000 (one hundred thousand euros), which we do not have. Our current savings are around €25,000 (twenty five thousand euros).

We have applied for contributions from various banks. The Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca has donated €40,000 (forty thousand) for 2017/18 but this project requires the contribution of everyone, no matter how small, because union is strength, and as the saying goes, lots of small drops fill the ocean.

We are therefore turning to all those who have a connection with Canigiano, and I think that everyone, even those who have not returned in a long time, have a tie to their home town and church where they may have received the sacraments, were married etc…

At the moment, we have no opportunity to celebrate Mass except in other places, among family for example, or during the summer, when Father Giancarlo Rocchiccioli is around, in the little cemetery chapel, which can fit no more than around fifteen people. Some people might say that there aren’t many of us, so do we really need the church? Then of course there are no priests, and sometimes Mass is not held. This is all true, but we must consider the wider picture, for example, those looking to get married are forced to go to another town; the same for a baptism or even worse, for a funeral...

In a town, the church is a very important meeting place, even for small communities. In order to pray, a priest is not necessary, just goodwill, which is not lacking. The church will remain closed, and sooner or later it will fall down completely, and we will lose a precious asset, built with so many sacrafices by our ancestors, who were even poorer than we are.