Sister Maurina
Encyclopedia
Sister Maurina, O.S.F.
, (born Maurina Borges da Silveira (1926-2011) was a Brazil
ian Roman Catholic
Franciscan
Sister
. She was the only Religious Sister to be arrest
ed and torture
d during the period of Brazil's military dictatorship (1964–1985).
. She was raised in the community of Perdizinha, in the municipality of Perdizes
, between Uberaba
and Araxá
. Perdizinha is a cluster of 50 houses built around a chapel, where there was Mass
once a month and praying the rosary
every Sunday. Her father, Antonio, a devout Catholic, worked as a carpenter dedicated to the construction of bullock cart
s. Altogether, the family consisted of 11 siblings, four of whom entered religious orders. Maurina discovered her religious inclination at age 7, after her father told her the story of Saint Francis of Assisi, an enthusiast of religious life for women. At age 14, she convinced her parents to let her join the convent in Araxá.
, São Paulo
, was arrested. She was leasing, without her knowledge, a room of the orphanage to members of the guerrilla group Forças Armadas de Libertação Nacional (FALN). The Sister was arrested, along with several members of FALN by Operação Bandeirantes (OBAN) officers, and tortured for five months. Among other things, she was stripped naked, given electric shocks, and hung on the pau-de-arara
torture device, in addition to being cursed, insulted, and threatened.
The arrest of Sister Maurina outraged many members of the Catholic community. Frei (Friar) Felíx Vasconcellos, O.F.M., then Archbishop of Ribeirão Preto
, excommunicated
two police commissioners working for the regime's repressive system. Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns
, O.F.M., then Archbishop of São Paulo, said that it was the arrest of Sister Maurina that led him to publicly speak out against the dictatorship.
Some authors, such as Jacob Gorender, in his book Combate nas Trevas (Fighting in the Darkness), claim that Sister Maurina was rape
d in prison. The Sister, however, denies this claim. According to her, she was a victim of "moral violence", such as when she was forced to sign a document stating that she was the mistress of a communist militant. Gordender says his claim was based on declarations made by FALN members.
On 1970, after five months of illegal detainment, Sister Maurina was released after she was exchanged for Japan
ese Consul Nobuo Okuchi, kidnapped by the Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária (VPR). She was forced into exile on Mexico
, where she lived for 14 years. There, she worked in the State of Mexico, assisting poor rural workers.
after getting pregnant by Commissioner Sérgio Paranhos Fleury, who had raped her. These claims, though denied by both the Sister and Cardinal Arns, served as the basis for the 1977 play Milagre na Cela (Miracle in the cell), written by playwright Jorge Andrade.
The event that generated the allegation of rape was later clarified by Sister Maurina herself. According to her, a tall, blonde officer once entered her cell and started to passionately hug her, saying that he had not seen his wife for a long time. The Sister claims that she told him to back down, and then he picked up a pistol and wanted her to hold it, in order to get her fingerprint
s on the gun.
. She divided her life between religious meetings and social care work to needy children in the city, where she resided since 1984. About her torture in the past, she declared the following: "I do not like to talk about it, I have already forgiven them all".
Third Order of St. Francis
The Third Order of St. Francis is a third order within the Franciscan movement of the Roman Catholic Church. It includes both congregations of vowed men and women and fraternities of men and women living standard lives in the world, usually married...
, (born Maurina Borges da Silveira (1926-2011) was a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Sister
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
. She was the only Religious Sister to be arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d during the period of Brazil's military dictatorship (1964–1985).
Early life
Maurina Borges da Silveira was born into a humble family in Minas GeraisMinas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
. She was raised in the community of Perdizinha, in the municipality of Perdizes
Perdizes, Minas Gerais
Perdizes is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 13,924 people living in a total area of 2,450 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba and to the micro-region of Araxá...
, between Uberaba
Uberaba
Uberaba is a city and municipality in the west of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Its population is 296.000 with an area of 4529.7 km², giving a density of 60.71 people per km². It is located on a plateau at an elevation of 785 meters and is in the Uberaba River floodplain...
and Araxá
Araxá
Araxá is a city and municipality in southwest Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The population was 87,764 inhabitants and the area of the municipality is 1,283 km², with 345 km² making up the urban perimeter.-Geography:...
. Perdizinha is a cluster of 50 houses built around a chapel, where there was Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
once a month and praying the rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
every Sunday. Her father, Antonio, a devout Catholic, worked as a carpenter dedicated to the construction of bullock cart
Bullock cart
A bullock cart or ox cart is a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen . It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them.Used especially for carrying goods,...
s. Altogether, the family consisted of 11 siblings, four of whom entered religious orders. Maurina discovered her religious inclination at age 7, after her father told her the story of Saint Francis of Assisi, an enthusiast of religious life for women. At age 14, she convinced her parents to let her join the convent in Araxá.
Arrest
On October 1969, Sister Maurina, then head of Lar Santana Orphanage in Ribeirão PretoRibeirão Preto
Ribeirão Preto is a municipality and city in the Northeastern region of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is nicknamed Brazilian California, because of a combination of an economy based on agrobusiness plus high technology, wealth and sunny weather all year long. With 605,114 inhabitants,...
, São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
, was arrested. She was leasing, without her knowledge, a room of the orphanage to members of the guerrilla group Forças Armadas de Libertação Nacional (FALN). The Sister was arrested, along with several members of FALN by Operação Bandeirantes (OBAN) officers, and tortured for five months. Among other things, she was stripped naked, given electric shocks, and hung on the pau-de-arara
Pau de Arara
Pau de arara is a Portuguese term that literally translates to "parrot's perch". The term originates from the habit of tying birds to a pole for sale, where they also hang for transportation...
torture device, in addition to being cursed, insulted, and threatened.
The arrest of Sister Maurina outraged many members of the Catholic community. Frei (Friar) Felíx Vasconcellos, O.F.M., then Archbishop of Ribeirão Preto
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ribeirão Preto
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ribeirão Preto is an archdiocese located in the city of Ribeirão Preto in Brazil.-History:* June 7, 1908: Established as Diocese of Ribeirão Preto from the Diocese of São Paulo...
, excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
two police commissioners working for the regime's repressive system. Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns
Paulo Evaristo Arns
Paulo Evaristo Arns O.F.M. is the Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of São Paulo.-Early life and education:...
, O.F.M., then Archbishop of São Paulo, said that it was the arrest of Sister Maurina that led him to publicly speak out against the dictatorship.
Some authors, such as Jacob Gorender, in his book Combate nas Trevas (Fighting in the Darkness), claim that Sister Maurina was rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d in prison. The Sister, however, denies this claim. According to her, she was a victim of "moral violence", such as when she was forced to sign a document stating that she was the mistress of a communist militant. Gordender says his claim was based on declarations made by FALN members.
On 1970, after five months of illegal detainment, Sister Maurina was released after she was exchanged for Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Consul Nobuo Okuchi, kidnapped by the Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária (VPR). She was forced into exile on Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, where she lived for 14 years. There, she worked in the State of Mexico, assisting poor rural workers.
Allegations of pregnancy
After the dictatorship, some sensationalistic newspapers published reports that Sister Maurina allegedly had obtained an abortionAbortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
after getting pregnant by Commissioner Sérgio Paranhos Fleury, who had raped her. These claims, though denied by both the Sister and Cardinal Arns, served as the basis for the 1977 play Milagre na Cela (Miracle in the cell), written by playwright Jorge Andrade.
The event that generated the allegation of rape was later clarified by Sister Maurina herself. According to her, a tall, blonde officer once entered her cell and started to passionately hug her, saying that he had not seen his wife for a long time. The Sister claims that she told him to back down, and then he picked up a pistol and wanted her to hold it, in order to get her fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s on the gun.
Current life
Until her death in 2011, Sister Maurina continued her vocation of caring for the poor in the São Paulo municipality of CatanduvaCatanduva
Catanduva is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Is the 2nd largest city in the North/Northwest portion of the state, 385 km from the city of São Paulo...
. She divided her life between religious meetings and social care work to needy children in the city, where she resided since 1984. About her torture in the past, she declared the following: "I do not like to talk about it, I have already forgiven them all".