Maria and the many Marias in prison: the Prison Pastoral’s discourse addressed to women

Abstract

This article examines how the actions of the Pastoral Carcerária (Catholic Prison Ministry, PCr) directed at incarcerated women contribute to the construction of a gendered subjectivity shaped by the acceptance of suffering as an expression of obedient love and a pathway to salvation. The analysis draws on discursive sequences collected during PCr visits to the Regional Prison of Chapecó in 2018, as well as on the book Maria e as Marias nos Cárceres: mulher atrás das grades (2018), distributed and used by the institution. The discourse constructs female inmates as suffering subjects, whose incarceration prevents them from fulfilling their expected familial roles. Within this framework, suffering and devotion are offered as means of “humanization,” understood primarily as a spiritual promise. The figure of Mary emerges as a moral exemplar: submissive, maternal, suffering, and redemptive. The article concludes that redemption for incarcerated women is framed through the reaffirmation of traditional family roles as a route to both dignity and eternal life.