Churches all over the world have been conducting prayers for the victims and families of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 which crashed in Ukraine near the Russian border on Thursday.
Australia's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its website that Ukrainian people held prayers at the St Andrews Ukrainian Church in Lidcombe, western Sydney, on Saturday.
The newspaper also reported that around 100 mourners gathered at the St Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Rose Bay, Australia, on Saturday to pay tribute to the Catholic teacher and nun, Sister Philomene Tiernan, who was among the victims.
Tiernan, a staff member at the Kincoppal-Rose Bay School in Australia, was on her way back to her country after having performed a spiritual ceremony at the town of Joigny in France.
Twenty-seven Australians were among the 298 passengers and crew on board Flight MH17 when it went down in troubled Ukraine on Thursday while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The Ukrainian authorities believe the plane was shot down.
The Bishop of Rome and absolute Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Pope Francis, offered prayers on Friday for the victims of the tragedy, according to the Catholic News Agency.
The agency also reported that Pope Francis urged all parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine to work for peace.
The Chaplain of Christ Church, Amsterdam, and Area Dean for the Netherlands, Canon Mark Collinson, urged churches in the Netherlands to pray for those who died in the tragic incident.
"Protestant, Anglican, Old Catholic and Roman Catholic ministers are meeting with grief-stricken family members at Schiphol (airport in Amsterdam) together with other professional support services," said Canon Collinson as quoted in the official news service of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Anglican Communion News Service.
In Malaysia, local newspapers reported that the Council of Churches of Malaysia also conducted prayers for the victims and their families on Friday, included the reading of passages from the Bible by the council's general secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri.
Australia's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its website that Ukrainian people held prayers at the St Andrews Ukrainian Church in Lidcombe, western Sydney, on Saturday.
The newspaper also reported that around 100 mourners gathered at the St Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Rose Bay, Australia, on Saturday to pay tribute to the Catholic teacher and nun, Sister Philomene Tiernan, who was among the victims.
Tiernan, a staff member at the Kincoppal-Rose Bay School in Australia, was on her way back to her country after having performed a spiritual ceremony at the town of Joigny in France.
Twenty-seven Australians were among the 298 passengers and crew on board Flight MH17 when it went down in troubled Ukraine on Thursday while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The Ukrainian authorities believe the plane was shot down.
The Bishop of Rome and absolute Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Pope Francis, offered prayers on Friday for the victims of the tragedy, according to the Catholic News Agency.
The agency also reported that Pope Francis urged all parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine to work for peace.
The Chaplain of Christ Church, Amsterdam, and Area Dean for the Netherlands, Canon Mark Collinson, urged churches in the Netherlands to pray for those who died in the tragic incident.
Victims of the MH17 plane crash are commemorated with 298 burning candles during a memorial service in the Saint Bavo cathedral in Haarlem, The Netherlands. - EPA/Evert Elzinga
"Protestant, Anglican, Old Catholic and Roman Catholic ministers are meeting with grief-stricken family members at Schiphol (airport in Amsterdam) together with other professional support services," said Canon Collinson as quoted in the official news service of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Anglican Communion News Service.
In Malaysia, local newspapers reported that the Council of Churches of Malaysia also conducted prayers for the victims and their families on Friday, included the reading of passages from the Bible by the council's general secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri.
