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  (Photo: AP / Steve Parsons, Pool)
  The parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann, Kate and Gerry McCann, light candles at the Roman Catholic shrine in Fatima, in central Portugal, Wednesday, May 23, 2007. Madeleine disappeared May 3 after her parents left her and her brother and sister, both aged 2, alone in their room while they went to a restaurant inside their hotel complex in Praia da Luz, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Lisbon and the police believe she was abducted.

The parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann visited Portugal’s most holy site on Wednesday to pray for their 4-year-old daughter’s safe return.

Gerry and Kate McCann have been forced to endure a devastating three weeks since their daughter was snatched from their holiday apartment on May 3. They say their faith in God has kept them going.

The McCanns paid a visit to the famous Portuguese Marian shrine of Fatima, in the hope that an answer to their prayers will soon be coming.

The trip is expected to be the first of several by the McCanns to raise awareness of Madeleine's abduction. The couple earlier this week said they would “travel wherever necessary” to find their missing four-year-old.

It is the first time that Kate McCann has left Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve region since Madeleine was abducted, excluding trips to the police station in neighboring Portimao.

Reports have described Kate McCann as long being a devout Christian, and that she has found great strength in her faith over the past three weeks. Gerry McCann, meanwhile, is said to have renewed his faith during the tragedy.

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Earlier this month, Fatima became a place of great solidarity for the Portuguese nation, as 300,000 pilgrims united at the holy shrine, many praying for Madeleine on the weekend of her fourth birthday.

Madeleine disappeared May 3 after her parents left her and her brother and sister, both aged 2, alone in their room while they went to a restaurant inside their hotel complex in Praia da Luz, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Lisbon and the police believe she was abducted.