God’s mercy reaches and embraces everyone.

“Mercy embraces everyone…and there is no place where His mercy cannot reach, no space or person that He cannot touch”.  (Pope Francis)

These words reflect the awareness and commitment of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary who, for more than 50 years, have accompanied detainees in the prisons of Lima, Peru.

“For I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink…I was sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”. Mt. 25: 34 - 46

For us this is an invitation to bring comfort and hope to a world where there is much misery but at the same time which is hungry for God.

Thanks to the brothers, sisters and volunteer professionals who share this vocation of special service that we have formed a Work Team that accompanies the rehabilitation processes in several areas: Spiritual: sacramental life, Bible study, missionary formation, accompaniment of the small basic communities within the prison; Health: free medical attention from the services of a surgeon and basic medicines; Psychological: psychological support workshops, addiction support groups, active listening; Social: humanitarian aid with medical prescriptions, personal hygiene items for those deprived of liberty who do not have family visits; Legal: legal advice for those who cannot afford a lawyer; Education: Access to a library,

 Values, Forgiveness and Reconciliation workshops, Yoga and Tai Chi.

This pastoral ministry is very broad because it extends outward including spiritual and family accompaniment for former prisoners, while also promoting activities that help them to reintegrate into society. This is imprortant as prisoners leave prison with the stigma of having been incarcerated. Former prisoners therefore, have great difficulty in finding work. We also conduct awareness and crime prevention sessions with talks and testimonies from former prisoners in schools, parishes, and universities. This, hopefully, is aimed at helping young people and society in general reflect upon and make better decisions in their lives.