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Meet Luce, the Vatican's first-ever mascot for the Catholic Church's 2025 Jubilee

Published Oct 30, 2024 12:30 pm

The Vatican is having its first-ever mascot for the Catholic Church's Holy Year or Jubilee in 2025.

The mascot named Luce, after the Italian word for "light," is an anime-inspired girl aiming to appeal to today's youth who have grown up watching the likes of One Piece, Attack on Titan, and Demon Slayer.

She's in a yellow sailor's raincoat and mud-stained green boots, has blue hair and eyes, wears a multicolored rosary, and carries a bordone or walking stick.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the jubilee's organizer, said the mascot was inspired by the Catholic Church's desire "to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth."

Luce is designed by Simone Legno, the Italian artist who co-founded the pop culture brand tokidoki, which sells "kawaii"-inspired, or cute, artworks and merchandise.

In an Instagram post, Legno shared the symbolisms behind Luce's outfit.

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A post shared by tokidoki (@simonelegno)

Her raincoat symbolizes journeying through life's storms. Like the sanrocchino, or the short-canvas cloak of pilgrims, it symbolizes divine protection on the pilgrimage toward eternity. Yellow recalls the colors of the flag of the Holy See.

Her dirty boots symbolize humility and a long, arduous journey. Green means hope.

The rosary beads represent a life filled with deep prayer, while the bordone evokes the pilgrim's arduous journey, which is the pilgrimage of life, a journey toward eternity.

The light in her eyes represents the vision of the light of God and the journey toward it, while its shell-like design is a symbol of perseverance in faith.

Luce is accompanied by her friends, the dog Santino, the dove Aura, and the angel Iubi, as well as other pilgrims named Fe, Xin, and Sky, who have red, green, and blue raincoats, respectively.

In the caption. Legno expressed his "indescribable joy" for the "truly historic project."

"To be honest, I could never have imagined that I would bring my humble artistic contribution, pop-culture, kawaii-culture to the Holy See," Legno said. "I am extremely grateful to the Dicastery for Evangelization for opening its doors to my Art."

Legno noted he grew up in a Catholic family in his hometown Rome, where he "learned the principles of a faith grounded in generosity and respect for others."

"In my work, I am fortunate to engage with the many cultures of the world, constantly searching for a contemporary and universal language that I strive to bring into my compositions," he said.

Legno said the jubilee, which the Church celebrates every 25 years, is "undoubtedly a unique opportunity for encounter and dialogue for millions of people, including many young people."

"I hope that the pilgrim Luce and her traveling friends, can represent the sentiments that resonate in the hearts of the younger generations," he said. "It’s a marvelous experience and a joyful light that I will bring within me for the rest of my Life."

Luce will make her official debut at the Lucca Comics & Games convention in the Italian city in the first week of November. She'll also appear as the Vatican’s mascot at Expo 2025 in Osaka in  Japan as a promotion of the theme of “Beauty Brings Hope.”

According to the Vatican, a jubilee is a year of forgiveness of sins and their according punishment. it is a year of reconciliation between adversaries, of conversion and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and consequently of solidarity, hope, justice, commitment to serve God with joy and in peace with our brothers and sisters.