The Catholic Church has unveiled a new cartoon mascot known as “Luce,” and the raincoat-clad anime girl has already made a splash online.
Luce has been embraced and denounced by the extremely online masses, and, inevitably, inspired a ridiculous amount of fan art, and memes.
Who Is Luce, The Vatican’s New Mascot?
Luce was designed as a kid-friendly mascot for the Catholic Church’s upcoming 2025 Jubliee Year, which is all about hope, forgiveness and holy pilgrimages.
Catholic and kid-friendly do not belong in the same sentence.
Luce means “light” in Italian; the anime girl is designed to appeal to the youth of today, who have grown up watching One Piece and Demon Slayer. The character is rendered in the “chibi” art style, meaning short, cutesy characters with big heads and stubby limbs.
Luce was designed by Simone Legno, the Italian pop artist behind the tokidoki brand, who takes inspiration from street graffiti and Japanese art.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the organizer for the jubilee, says the mascot was inspired by the Catholic Church's desire "to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth."
Luce also appears to be a pilgrim, which is why she wears a raincoat, muddy boots and walking staff, symbolizing her perseverance through a storm-ridden landscape.
Luce’s whole outfit is loaded with Catholic iconography and symbolism; she wears rosary beads around her neck, and her bright blue hair might be a reference to the Virgin Mary’s blue hair covering.
Luce also has scallop shells in her eyes, which are an iconic symbol of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, with the shell representing the way to the Cathedral.
Luce proved a pleasant surprise for anime-loving Catholics, instantly inspiring a deluge of fan art and positive commentary.
Many made comparisons to Rei, a blue-haired character from the legendary anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Others pointed out that Luce bears a striking resemblance to the “Morton Salt Girl,” the official mascot of Morton Salt.
It didn’t take long for artists to reimagine Luce in multiple different styles, and a variety of poses; the mascot even inspired Halloween costumes.
However, not everyone was impressed with the Church’s new anime girl; more traditional commentators saw the chibi mascot as an embarrassment, too modern and silly to represent their faith.
Some even compared the name of the anime character to the devil himself, Lucifer, but the supposed link was quickly debunked.
Okay this sounds like some shit my crank protestant theocratic fascist coworker would try to say smear the Catholics, like the fact that it's an anime isn't cringe enough as is.
Many commentators urged the traditionalists to lighten up, and made jokes about the cultural divide between Luce fans and haters.
Brightly colored cartoon characters are a fun, inoffensive way to appeal to the youth, and the Catholic Church could stand to shed its image as a dusty, archaic institution.
While Luce has been introduced online, the character is due to make her official debut at the Lucca Comics & Games convention in Lucca, Italy, in the first week of November.
Luce will also appear as the Vatican’s mascot at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, where she will be used to promote the theme of “Beauty Brings Hope.”
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