The Vatican has found a new star – and no, it’s not the “Gamer saint.” The Vatican announced this official mascot for the 2025 anniversary on Monday and it’s an anime character named Luce. Although it’s been about a day since Luce’s reveal, she’s already become incredibly popular online – people are flocking to social media platforms like X to share memes and fanart of the little pilgrim.
Luce was designed by Simone Legno, creator of the Tokidoki brand, for the anniversary, a year-long religious period in the Catholic Church marking the “forgiveness of sinsHer basic chibi design looks almost like a Sanrio character and includes details like a yellow raincoat, mud on her boots from her journey, and a shell pattern in her eyes, apparently representing the hope born in the heart of every pilgrim becomes. In Italian, their name means “light” and their design is intended to reflect pop culture and appeal to the younger generation. the official anniversary website translated by Polygon said.
The kawaii character comes at a controversial time for the Catholic Church. Ten years ago, the Vatican set up a commission on clergy sexual abuse, and the group released its first report on Tuesday. Victim advocates criticized the commission’s findings as lacking independent review and “toothless.” according to a New York Times story. Many victims of clergy abuse were children. The introduction of a mascot for young people therefore underscores the dissonance between the Vatican’s new mascot and the clergy’s failure to protect children.
Despite other news, it seems like the Pope and other Vatican officials wanted to jump on the anime hype bandwagon – and it looks like it’s worked in some ways. On the internet, people are sharing anime-inspired fanart of Luce and memes about Catholics getting an anime girl now. Some of the artwork depicts Luce in more detail, while others make jokes about her being with Jesus. Either way, there are tons of them, so keep scrolling to see them all.
The Vatican releasing an official anime character wasn’t on my bingo card for 2024, but it makes sense since the Vatican will be keeping it Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
