Two of the victims came from a free evangelical church background. Churches open their doors for prayer and support on 9 January: “A place to express personal grief but also powerlessness before God”, says the Evangelical Alliance.

This Christmas, may the God of comfort help us to accompany with tenderness, to listen without haste, and to remember with love.

“There are many wounds to heal and questions to answer. With each question answered comes relief”, says pastor and author Hans Ewen.

Thomas Mann takes us to the strange beauty of a misty Venice and the devastation brought on by a cholera epidemic in 1911.

Remember that how we support the bereaved can bring glory to God.