When he became a priest 40 years ago, Father Mario Carminati knew he would be dealing with death – but not on an industrial scale. “Authorities didn’t know where to put the coffins,” said Carminati, 64, the senior priest in Seriate, a tranquil, middle-class riverside town of 25,000 people in northern Italy. Gatherings have been banned throughout Italy because of a national lockdown so church funerals cannot be held.