Prayer-dispensing machine installed at Stuttgart airport

Passengers passing through Stuttgart airport in Germany are being offered a new way to pray — a photo booth-like machine that delivers prayers from various faiths at the push of a button.

Developed by Berlin artist Oliver Sturm, the machine is scheduled to operate for three months.

An employee of the airport’s chaplaincy said on Thursday that “we installed the machine in the departures area on purpose, as passengers are generally more relaxed after they have passed through security.”

Meanwhile, Sturm said that his “Gebetomat,” a portmanteau of the German words for prayer and machine, had been in operation since 2008, “but this is the first time it is being installed at an airport.

“The machine is not intended to promote any particular religion,’’ he added.