The Church of San Juan de Dios
Nestling in the heart of the merchant district, the church is out of place compared to the Martian buildings that surround it. It was commissioned under the rule of Prince Halbaat in the early days of Spanish influence in the City of Valx. In fact this was the very church that the Prince hoped to capture or kill the Spanish in during his failed purge of November 1885. The initial church took four years to complete from the rubble of the long collapsed tower that once stood on the site. Since then extra parts have been built in a seemingly random manner to make it quite a sprawling complex. A rather reluctant priest, Father Julio, arrived from earth and led a tepid mission to convert the Martians. It was said that he was not her by choice but rather by instruction.
By contrast, a trio of elderly monks of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God arrived on Mars led by a divine dream to tend to God’s new flock. They established a hospital within the church complex and set about their work. Brother Tiago soon fell ill from the endless heat of the city and was sent back to Spain while Brother Pedro never returned from a mission to preach to the High Martians of the Electris Mountains. Brother Miguel, however, thrived and set a fine example to both the humans and Martians of the city. He was soon joined by Brother Hector and several local Martian converts.
Brother Hector was once a member of the Tercio de Extranjeros, having served his term of service early due to ‘acts of heroism’ and allowed to join the Brother of Mercy to follow his divine calling. Born Jakub Zizka in the Czech lands of the Hapsburgs, he enlisted in the Tercio to travel to Mars for the excitement of it. He was a fierce soldier and was commended for his bravery but the destruction of a Hill Martian village led him to doubt his life choices. He refused to carry a weapon again, was severely punished for his insubordination and served as a labourer within the Tercio. After a failed mission in to the Highlands, he rescued an officer from certain death by carrying him through the hills to safety. For his loyalty he was discharged in to the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God but forbidden to return to Earth. Brother Hector joined the order just as an outbreak of Gorgorian Marsh Fever had been borne down the canal from the north west. He tended to the ill with no preference or prejudice till the epidemic was over gaining the respect and affection of many with the city. A popular man with humans and Martians alike.
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