London, Feb 16 (ANI): Apple Inc has come up with a number of iPhone applications designed to answer prayers and other religious requirements.

The programs on the handset can read out Bible verses, point the way to Jerusalem and list festivals for all the major faiths.

Ship of Fools, the light-hearted religion website best known for its round up of “kitsch-mas” decorations, dubbed the programs as “apps of the apostles”.

“I think the ones that will succeed are those that fulfil a genuine need, but are also imaginative,” the Telegraph quoted Stephen Goddard, co-editor of the site, as saying.

He also said the applications would not be seen as sacrilegious by many, as they provide an easy way for worshippers to keep in touch with their faith.

At the top of the list of religious applications is the Hallelujah Button, which can be downloaded for just 59p, and features a large yellow button that plays a few seconds of the Hallelujah Chorus, from Handel’s Messiah.

Ship of Fools says the application is a “godsend” for anyone who has just won the lottery or survived to the end of a lengthy church sermon.

Next in the collection is the Mizrach Compass which, when the iPhone is held flat, points an arrow in the direction of Jerusalem so Jewish users know which direction to face while praying.

Another application recreates the sound of a church organ, complete with two keyboards and a number of stops.

BibleClock, which costs 2.99 pounds, reads out one of a large selection of verses from scripture whenever the alarm goes off.

Using the iPhone’s touch-screen technology, it also plays the Lord’s Prayer when users make the sign of the cross.

Another application, BibleShaker, uses the iPhone’s motion sensor and comes up with an appropriate verse from the King James Version to match subjects ranging from “anger” to “baptism”, while Holy Rosary Audio can recite the Hail Mary or Our Father.

Another app aimed at Jewish iPhone users, called iMenorah, shows a digital version of the nine-branched candelabrum lit during Hanukkah. The candles can be lit while a Hebrew blessing plays in the background, and then gradually melt down.

The Today Interfaith Calendar shows the day’s festivals for the world’s major religions, while Azan Alarm Clock displays the call to prayer for Muslims. (ANI)