Given their status as working-class Italian-Americans who spent at least part of their adult lives residing in Brooklyn, it is likely that Mario and Luigi are Catholic, although their adherence to official church doctrine is probably debatable. Indeed, it’s hard to go to confessional every week when King Koopa is always hiding Goombas and Bob-ombs in the booth. However, while they’ve never demonstrated official interest in evangelism since their exile in the Mushroom Kingdom, the Super Mario Brothers do appear to have adapted.

Take, for example, the Holy Grail in virtually every Mario installment, personified as the Princess who must be rescued. Princess Toadstool-Daisy-Peach is coveted in a half-desire-half-worship dichotomy, making her a surrogate for the Virgin Mary. The frequent and unexplained three-princesses-in-one dynamic may refer to the Holy Trinity as well. (I am aware that Princess Daisy is not the same individual as Princess Toadstool a.k.a. Peach. In fact, they rule in neighboring kingdoms. But for the sake of this metaphor, think of Toadstool as the Father, Peach as the Son, and Daisy as the Holy Ghost. The Toadstool/Peach divide is analogous to the active roles of God and Christ in the Bible, with the same multi-aspect Being named as Toadstool in the Old Testament [NES, SNES], and Peach in the New Testament [N64, GC, Wii].)

Yoshi and his dinosaur kin, as well as Toad and his mushroom kin, both hearken back to the Colonial era, and are generally regarded by Mario and Luigi as Noble Savages: honest, useful, and strong as oxen, but still intellectually and morally inferior. Mario and Luigi view Yoshi and Toad with the same arrogant condescension that Cortez displayed when conquering the Aztecs.

Mario clearly considers himself to be the local Christ figure, and his brother to fill the shoes of a disciple or apostle. Mario’s arrogance is so strong, in fact, that he does not even bother to wonder which apostle would be most appropriate. John the Baptist, perhaps, if not for the fact that John was born before Jesus, and the suggestion that his little brother filled the role of precursor is something Mario could not abide (thus do we assign the role of John the Baptist to Pac-Man). Conversely, Luigi himself dreams of the day he can have his “Saint Paul Moment”, capitalizing on Mario’s fame and glory and subtly re-writing Mario’s words and deeds to suit his own purposes.

Wario, as Mario’s opposite, is a parallel of the Antichrist. In the Bible, the Antichrist is totally devoid of independent character development, existing instead only as the direct opposite of Jesus Christ. Similarly, Wario’s existence is meaningless without Mario to mimic and antagonize.

Bowser is Satan, of course, but as with all things in Catholicism, he is a more disciplined and orderly villain than the Protestant Satan. As demonstrated in such games as Super Mario Kart and Super Paper Mario (in which Bowser becomes a playable character), Bowser is a professional antagonist, not truly evil, but a being with a role he knows he must fulfill. This is akin to the Satan depicted in the Book of Job, who makes a bet with God seemingly out of boredom.

The race of turtle-like Koopas, with their ancient heritage and strong national pride, perhaps parallel the Jews, ruthlessly and perpetually antagonized by Mario and his followers, and unjustly vilified in Mushroom Kingdom literature. Like many traditional Roman Catholics, Mario and Luigi demonstrate a bigoted blind spot when dealing with this group.

In contrast to both Bowser and Wario, who fit into a standard Catholic pantheon, Donkey Kong can be viewed as an altogether more primitive, savage deity not unlike Quetzalcoatl or Huitzilopochtli. This is perhaps where we see Mario and Luigi come closest to missionary work, wandering into the jungles outside of the Mushroom Kingdom and stroking their moustaches in disapproval as the squat mushroom folk slice each other’s throats, drink the blood of their kin, and offer the spent carcasses to the ravenous Kong. The origin of Mario and Luigi’s heroism therefore may in fact stem from a crusader-like desire to free the souls of the Mushroom savages from their penchant for heathenistic blood sacrifice.

Lastly, we can propose a pantheon of obscure Saints for Mario and Luigi to call upon, modified for use abroad. These are typified by the magic boxes full of money, food, and weapons which appear to the Mario Brothers at convenient moments throughout their travels. Some official Roman Catholic Saints were most likely transferable, such as St. Ansovinus, the Patron Saint of Gardeners, blessing Mario with Fire Flowers, or St. Dunstan, Patron Saint of Goldsmiths, blessing Luigi with renewed vitality each time he collects 100 gold coins. Patrons for more unorthodox items such as Invincibility Stars and Raccoon Tail Leaves are presumed improvised.