Madeleine's mum in prayer plea on first anniversary

May 4 2008 By Norman Silvester

Family's Heartache On Anniversary Of Disappearance

KATE McCann yesterday begged the world to "pray like mad" for daughter Madeleine on the first anniversary of her disappearance.

Kate, 40, stood up during a 30-minute service to mark the anniversary at their local church and thanked the community for their support.

The tearful mum said she and her Glasgow-born husband Gerry could not have got through their ordeal without their help.

She told the congregation to "keep praying, pray like mad" for the missing four-year-old.

The couple left the Anglican parish church of St Mary and St John, in Rothley, Leicestershire, holding hands and clutching bunches of flowers.

The service was one of several being held in Britain and Portugal to mark the anniversary of Madeleine's suspected abduction.

Supporters also lit candles, shone torches or turned on porch lamps between 9.30pm and 10pm last night to mark the moments when she went missing. Gerry, 39, said yesterday that he struggled to enjoy even fleeting moments of happiness while his little girl is still missing.

The hospital consultant described the heart-wrenching emotions he and his GP wife are going through.

He said he was first struck down with a powerful sense of guilt while playing with three-year-old twins Sean and Amelie in Portugal last year.

He explained: "The first days were the worst. There was a Saturday, three weeks after Madeleine disappeared, when I was playing with the twins in the pool and I thought, 'How is this possible?' "I felt a terrible guilt. How can I feel happy when we have no idea where Madeleine is?"

Gerry also revealed the couple are not planning on having any more children. He said: "Everyone knows we used artificial insemination and it was difficult for us to have children.

At the moment, we're concentrating on finding Madeleine."

The little girl vanished from her bed in her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, at 9.15pm on May 3 last year. Her family marked the anniversary with a special Mass at a church in Glasgow.

Gerry's mother, Eileen, asked Father John Carroll to hold a service at the Church of St Mary Immaculate.

Fr Carroll said: "People are here to offer their support - support any family in this situation needs.

"We are all hoping, willing, praying for Madeleine's safe return."

Also present was Gerry's sister, teacher Phil McCann.

She said: "We wanted an intimate service away from all the pressures and I think we got that.

"Kate and Gerry appreciate everyone's continuing support."

Everton, Madeleine's favourite football team, joined the campaign to "light the way home" for her by switching on the floodlights at their Goodison Park ground.

And the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, penned a special prayer for Madeleine and urged everyone to redouble their efforts to pray for her safe return.

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