London: Parish prays for Nora Quoirin

A vigil of prayer and reflection took place on Wednesday evening at St Bede's Church in Balham, south London, for Nora Quoirin and her parents, after the news of her death during a family holiday in Malaysia. A huge search took place after Nora, aged 15, went missing from her room on 4 August. Her body was found on Tuesday.

The Quoiron family were regular parishioners at St Bede's. Parish priest Fr Marcus Holden told the BBC the parish have been praying for her every day since her disappearance. "People are devastated" he said. "She was a blessing to this parish… She brought out a great deal of love in people. We thank God for the time we had with her."

Fr Marcus wrote on Twitter: "We have been informed that Nora Quoirin has died. We now keep the repose of Nora's soul in our prayers confident that she is in the safe hands of Our Father in heaven. We pray also for her family at this time of profound tragedy.

May she rest in peace and rise in glory."

A Mass for Nora will be offered at St Bede's at 8pm on Thursday, 15 August.

Prayers have also been said at St Brigid's church in south Belfast, where Nora was baptised in 2004. Her grandparents are still parishioners there. Parish priest Fr Eddie O'Donnell told the Belfast Telegraph: "Hearts are filled with pain but we realise that the sum total of all our pain does not even begin to approximate the pain of Nora's Mum and Dad Meabh and Sebastien, and that of her grandparents and those of the immediate family circle."