Church is irrelevant in today’s society.

So they tell me, and so it would seem, until a catastrophe happens.

Yesterday in Leeds a school a teacher was murdered in the classroom. Today the school was still open, but there was a service at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church. But yesterday evening, according to a report on this evening’s Look North, things were less formal.

Pupils and teachers alike went into the church next to the school, some had ni idea why they were there. One boy told the priest, “I think I have to pray, show me how it;s done.”

In times of crisis people turn to the church. The influence of Christianity is far greater than the numbers in the pews on a Sunday would suggest.

And my prayers go out to the family, friends, colleagues and pupils of Ann Maguire.