Madeleine McCann's mother said her faith in God has been shaken by the abduction of her three-year-old daughter.

Kate McCann said fear about what might have happened to Madeleine, who was taken from her bed in the family’s holiday apartment 102 days ago, led her to question her belief in God. “You find yourself asking, ‘Why do this to Madeleine? Why have you let this happen?’” she said.

But Mrs McCann said these “darker moments” of doubt were short-lived. “You realise that God hasn’t done this, somebody else has done this. I find myself asking God to help us find Madeleine and keep her safe”, she told the BBC’s Heaven and Earth programme.

The Catholic couple have spent much time since Madeleine’s abduction in the small Anglican church in Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort where the family were on holiday. “We have drawn on our faith much more since this happened, [but] our faith has always been there,” Mrs McCann said.

Madeleine’s parents had an audience with the Pope in May, when they asked him to bless a picture of their missing daughter. The couple said the meeting was “spiritually incredibly important” for them as the Pope said he was praying for Madeleine and her safe return.

Gerry McCann said his faith had been a constant throughout turbulent ordeal. “If the worst has happened all we might be left with is a faith in the knowledge that she is in a better place”, he said, adding that they had “thought through” everything that could have happened to their daughter.