Brussels attack: Religious leaders and survivors unite to pay tribute to victims in cathedral service

Rescuers and airport personnel were also in attendance

Tuesday 29 March 2016 10:38

A Brussels cathedral hosted an interfaith service on Easter Monday to remember the victims of last week’s airport and metro attacks.

Survivors, rescuers and representatives from Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, Anglican and Evangelical communities gathered to reflect at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula.

“I’m here for the others mostly, I’ve been saved, so I want to be here to support the others,” said Geoffroy Lemaitre, an airport worker who was injured during the bombings.

During the service, which was presided over by Archbishop Jozef de Kesel of Mechelen-Brussels, both airport and emergency service personnel carried trays of candles and received applause from the congregation.

Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims

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1/27Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims

Wreaths of flowers in front of an entrance of the Maalbeek subway station in Brussels in homage to the victims of a terrorist attack.

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Wreaths of flowers in front of an entrance of the Maalbeek subway station in Brussels in homage to the victims of a terrorist attack.

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A building illuminated with the Belgian flag colours and a heart in Brussels, two days after suicide bombing attacks of terrorists on March 22 in Zaventem airport and subway Maelbeek.

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A picture taken on 24 March, 2016 on place de la Bourse in Brussels, shows drawings and a candle, two days after suicide bombing attacks of terrorists on March 22 in Zaventem airport and Brussels subway Maelbeek

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Candles are displayed in tribute to the Brussels attacks victims on 24 March, 2016 on place de la Bourse in Brussels, two days after the suicide bombing attacks of terrorists on 22 March.

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A mourner lights a candle in Trafalgar Square during a candlelit vigil in support of the victims of the recent terror attacks in Brussels.

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Brussels airport workers pay tribute to the victims near Zaventem

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Activists light candles and hold placards to condemn the terrorist attacks in Belgium, during a gathering in Manila, Philippines

A banner for the victims of the bombings reads "I am Brussels" at the Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, left front center, stands with front row, left to right, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Belgium's King Philippe, Belgium's Queen Mathilde and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel as well as members of the European Commission during a minute of silence at EU headquarters in Brussels

People join hands in solidarity near the former stock exchange following the bomb attacks in Brussels

Belgium flags ornate the facade of the Paris Town Hall

A woman embraces her children at The Place de la Bourse as she pays her respects to victims of the terrorists attacks in Brussels

Belgian and European Union flags fly at half mast following the bomb attacks in Brussels

Candles in the colors of the Belgian national flag are lit inside the Belgian embassy in Madrid, a day after the deadly suicide attacks on the Brussels airport and its subway system

Servicemen of Azov, Ukrainian volunteers battalion, hold torches in front of floral tributes during a ceremony in front of the Belgian embassy in Kiev, in tribute to the victims of Brussels attacks

A refugee boy holds up a placard reading "Sorry for Brussels" at a refugee camp near the Greek-Macedonian border

People light candles in tribute to victims at a makeshift memorial at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels

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A woman holds a drawing by French cartoonist Plantu picturing a character made of a French flag consoling another made of the Belgian flag, in front of the Hotel de Ville in Paris

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The colours of the Belgian flag are projected on to (clockwise from top left) the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the town council building in Belgrade, Rome's Campidoglio and the Royal Palace at Dam Square in Amsterdam

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Candles are lit in tribute to the victims, at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels

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A woman holds a placard reading "Paris hearts Belgium, How much time will it take us to open our eyes and say STOP, Today our hearts are broken, Open your eyes to change the future" at the Place de la Republique in Paris

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People gather to pay a tribute to victims of terrorist attacks in Brussels

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People write messages on the ground at Place de la Bourse in Brussels

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A bouquet of flowers in the Belgian national colours with a card reading 'To our neighbours, to our friends, to our Belgian brothers - an indignant Parisian' is seen next to a French national flag at the fence of the Belgian embassy in Paris

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Solidarity messages are written in chalk outside the stock exchange in Brussels

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Messages and floral tributes outside the Brussels stock exchange

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Over 1,100 people attended the memorial service, according to the Belga news agency.

“Being invited to a place like the Brussels cathedral is symbolic for me,” explained Kamar Takkal, a member of the Muslim community.

“It means we are all together, whatever our beliefs, whatever our messages, we are united, hand in hand, in suffering.”

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