As the Vatican prepares to open the Jubilee 2025 in about forty-eight days, Luce, the name given to the new mascot for the event, was unveiled on October 28th, 2024. Just a week ago, it went viral and attracted attention among the youth on social media.
In less than seven days, hundreds of memes and fan art renditions of Luce have popped up on social media websites such as Facebook, X, Reddit, and TikTok and have been circulating on these platforms.
According to the Catholic News Agency, the mascot has become particularly popular with Catholic meme accounts and groups but also has a presence in non-Catholic spaces, such as amateur anime artists, Protestant meme accounts, and some secular and political meme accounts. It has also inspired Halloween costumes and the creation of a cryptocurrency called Luce Token, which has a market capitalization that has surpassed $50 million.
Many of the Luce-inspired memes invoke Christian prayer messages and ward off the devil. One popular meme parodies a famous scene from “The Shining,” which shows Luce using her staff to break a hole into a wooden door and stick her face through the hole as the devil cowers in the corner. Some others depict Luce kneeling in prayer.
Several Luce memes spreading around the internet also invoke pro-life messages, such as one that depicts Luce saving a baby from a Planned Parenthood abortion facility. Some memes have put Luce side by side with the Crusaders.
The Jubilee year in the Catholic Church is a particular year of forgiveness and reconciliation and is usually celebrated every 25 years. The celebration is set to be opened on Christmas Eve 2024, welcoming an anticipated 30 million pilgrims into Rome by the time the Holy Year ends on January 6th, 2026. According to the Greek reporter, the Vatican introduced this friendly cartoon character to visitors for the 2025 jubilee.
According to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation and Vatican’s chief organizer for the jubilee, the mascot is part of the Vatican’s effort to connect with popular culture that appeals to young audiences. “This will allow us to speak to younger generations about the theme of hope, which is more central than ever in the evangelical message,” he stated.
The mascot, Luce, meaning “light” in Italian, is dressed for the journey in a yellow raincoat, worn boots, and a pilgrim’s cross. With her loyal dog Santino by her side, Luce’s role is to guide young visitors toward hope and faith. Her eyes hold a unique detail: scallop shells that reflect the symbol of the Camino de Santiago, a famous path for pilgrims, representing the spirit of the journey. Archbishop Rino Fisichella described her bright eyes as “a symbol of hope in the heart.”
Luce’s outfit carries symbolic meaning. Her yellow raincoat nods to the colors of the Vatican flag and represents perseverance through life’s storms. The mud on her boots speaks to the struggles of a challenging journey, while her staff represents the pilgrim’s pursuit of a timeless destination. Legno, a longtime fan of Japanese pop culture, expressed his hopes that “Luce can represent the sentiments that resonate in the hearts of the younger generations.”
The choice of a mascot like Luce is part of a broader context aimed at reaching new generations and promoting intergenerational dialogue. The mascot not only represents the Jubilee but is also a symbol of community, of welcome and sharing.
Photo credit: Sky.com
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