Benedict XVI blessed the parents of 4-year-old Madeleine McCann, who was abducted in Portugal. The parents had left the girl and a 2-year-old sister alone while they ate dinner.

Pope Benedict XVI compassionately held the hands of the parents of 4-year-old Madeleine McCann, blessing them and a photo of the girl at the Wednesday audience today. The couple, who is Catholic, went to ask prayers for their daughter who disappeared while the family was vacationing in Portugal.

Thirty two thousand people were present at the general audience, but the pope took time to meet with Gerry and Kate McCann. "He was very kind, very sincere," Kate McCann told a packed news conference. According to the Associated Press, she said Benedict reassured them that he would "continue to pray for Madeleine's safe return."