The Hermanas Maristas Prison Ministry
Project is a ministry of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary. Four
Missionary Sisters work as Pastoral Agents in the two largest penitentiaries
for men in Lima, Peru – Castro Castro Prison (Maximum Security) and Lurigancho Prison. Lurigancho
prison has been named by National Geographic as one of the two worst prisons in Latin America – it was constructed many years ago for 2,000
prisoners, and now houses 10,000! The sisters’ pastoral ministry includes spiritual and human
promotion work of various kinds.
Fifty-four percent of Peruvians live below
the poverty line and the vast majority of the prisoners grew up poor. Inmates
often tell the sisters that they search for honest jobs, but became discouraged
after many fruitless attempts to find work. They turned to crime as a result.
In addition, the Peruvian legal system says that a suspect is to be presumed
guilty until proven innocent – many inmates spend years in prison before their
case even comes before the court.
The sisters offer the
prisoners spiritual counseling, theology and philosophy courses, and workshops
on Inner Healing. The goal of the workshops is to help the inmates discover the
truth of who they are and assist them in healing their emotions and letting go
of hated. A support group for ex-prisoners who have taken the workshop assists
those who are struggling with the many difficulties encountered now that they
are on the outside. Sister Teresa has
organized a library in the chaplaincy offices of Lurigancho prison and stocked
it with educational books and DVDs. She has trained a number of library
assistants from among the inmates.
Besides their pastoral
ministry within the prisons, the Sisters also spend many hours each week
visiting families of inmates throughout the sprawling city of Lima; and ministering to a number of sick prisoners
in city hospitals, many of them suffering from AIDS or TB. A group of Marist
Laity in Lima also assists with these ministries. You can view their current newsletter here.
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