Enigmundia: Pio Famila, History, and Crosses

Image taken from the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania

In my past posts on Enigmundia, particularly the Zan Lazario mini-setting, I've been thinking about how to deal with the Catholic / Christian religion.

Once again, I'll be borrowing from the Hinirang body of stories and expanding on the Pio Familia (Holy Family) religion and the most popular branch of that religion, the Tres Hermanas (three sisters), but adding my own tweaks and twists.

A Brief History of the Pio Famila

The story stretches back to the era of the Remanian Empire, when a small religious movement that gathered sufficient clout to become a concern had to be put down. The most prominent members of that religion were a family, and were rumored to have displayed miraculous abilities. They were all persecuted and killed and the most prominent members that were arrested and tried together were publicly crucified.

Weeks later, however, their bodies disappeared from their graves, and their most ardent followers were given vision as to the locations of these now-sacred corporal relics of the founders of the faith. Decades later, when the various sects reconnected and reconciled with one another, the main body of the Pio Famila was composed of the following:

• Santo Padre (1) -- the father of the family, crucified with the main body of the family
• Santa Madre (1) -- the mother of the family, crucified with the main body of the family
• El Hermano Mayor (1) -- the eldest son, a prodigal who spread the faith to the corners of the Remanian Empire, and was the last to be caught and crucified
• Tres Hermanas (3) -- the three middle sisters, crucified with the main body of the family
• El Hermano Menor (1) -- the youngest son, faithful and dutiful, killed during the arrest of the main body of the family
• Santo Ninyo por Nacer (*) -- the unborn child of the mother, died during the crucifixion of the main body of the family
• Abuelos (4) -- grandparents who outlived their children and most of their grandchildren, their passion, cunning, and eloquence organized and galvanized the earliest incarnation of the Pio Familia religion; all were caught and exiled to remote corners of the Remulan Empire where they first transcribed their lessons and knowledge into secret writings

All their symbols are related to crosses, but only those who were crucified have actual depictions on crucifixes, and there are some notable ones:

• The Padre crucifix normally has a defiant pose, with the crucified form staring forward;
• The Madre crucifix is normally swathed in a robe and shawl, figure is feminine, but face is hidden;
• The Hermano Mayor crucifix has a different style of cross than the others, because he was caught and killed later;
• The Tres Hermanas are rarely shown crucified and -- when shown associated with the cross -- are often represented as three draped shawls on a triple cross;
• The Hermano Minor is associated with an empty cross, as he was not crucified;
• There are mystery cults associated with the Ninyo por Nacer and few outside their numbers have seen the crucifix or cross associated with it;
• None of the Abuelos have crucifixes or crosses.