Luce (mascot)
{{Short description|Mascot of the 2025 Jubilee}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Luce
| image = File:Luce mascot.png
| image_size =
| image_upright = 0.6
| alt = An anime-style illustration of a young girl with blue hair. She is wearing a yellow raincoat and green mud-stained rubber boots. She is carrying a staff and is wearing a rosary.
| caption = Official artwork of Luce
| first_date = October 28, 2024
| creator = Simone Legno
| gender = Female
| religion = Catholic
}}
Luce ({{IPA|it|ˈluːtʃe|lang}} {{lit|Light}}) is the official mascot of the Catholic Church's 2025 Jubilee. Designed by tokidoki founder Simone Legno, she represents a Catholic pilgrim. She is accompanied by a pet dog named Santino and three friends named Fe, Xin, and Sky.{{cite web |url=https://es.churchpop.com/el-significado-de-los-simbolos-de-luce-la-mascota-del-jubileo-2025/ |title=El significado de los símbolos de Luce, la mascota del Jubileo 2025 |website=ChurchPOP |first1=Eleonora |last1=Vescovini |first2=Harumi |last2=Suzuki |date=November 7, 2024 |language=es |access-date=March 13, 2025}}
Description
Luce has blue hair, blue eyes and pale skin, and wears a yellow rain jacket, which is colored in reference to the flag of the Vatican City as well as a symbol for "journeying through life's storms". She carries a pilgrim's staff, which represents "the pilgrimage toward eternity", and wears mud-stained boots to represent "a long and difficult journey". Her eyes have highlights in the shape of a scallop shell, a traditional symbol of Catholic pilgrimage; her shining eyes were described as "a symbol of the hope of the heart". Luce also wears a multi-colored World Mission rosary around her neck.{{cite news |last1=Arnold |first1=Tyler |title=Vatican's anime-style mascot Luce goes viral on internet with Catholic memes, fan art |url=https://www.catholicherald.com/article/global/vaticans-anime-style-mascot-luce-goes-viral-on-internet-with-catholic-memes-fan-art/ |access-date=14 November 2024 |work=Catholic Herald |publisher=Catholic News Agency |date=November 4, 2024}}
Simone Legno, Luce's designer, said that he hoped "Luce can represent the sentiments that resonate in the hearts of the younger generations".{{Cite web |last=Mares |first=Courtney |title=Meet 'Luce': The Vatican's cartoon mascot for Jubilee 2025 |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/260129/meet-luce-the-vatican-s-cartoon-mascot-for-jubilee-2025 |date=2024-10-28 |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}
History
File:Luce inflatable at Lucca Comics 2024.png 2024.|right]]
Luce was unveiled by Archbishop Rino Fisichella of the Dicastery for Evangelization on October 28, 2024, as the official mascot of the 2025 Jubilee. He said that Luce was inspired by the Catholic Church's desire "to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth".{{Cite web |last=McLellan |first=Justin |date=2024-10-28 |title=Archbishop Rino Fisichella of Dicastery for Evangelization unveils official mascot of the Holy Year 2025: 'Luce' |url=https://thedialog.org/vatican-news/archbishop-rino-fisichella-of-dicastery-for-evangelization-unveils-official-mascot-of-the-holy-year-2025-luce/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=The Dialog |language=en}}
Luce represented the Holy See at Lucca Comics & Games in 2024, which was the first time that the Vatican officially participated in a comic convention.{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Rich |date=2024-10-30 |title=The Vatican Attends Lucca, Launching Their Cartoon Mascot, Luce |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/the-vatican-attends-lucca-launching-their-cartoon-mascot-luce/ |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=bleedingcool.com |language=en}} At Lucca Comics & Games, a large inflatable display of Luce became a popular selfie spot.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-01 |title='Luce', la mascotte del Giubileo, conquista Lucca a suon di selfie. Il vescovo: "Parla il linguaggio dei giovani" |url=https://www.luccaindiretta.it/cultura-e-spettacoli/2024/11/01/luce-la-mascotte-del-giubileo-conquista-lucca-a-suon-di-selfie-il-vescovo-parla-il-linguaggio-dei-giovani/432298/ |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=Luccaindiretta |language=it}} Additionally, she will appear at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.{{Cite web |title=Dome and the Rising Sun for Expo 2025 in Osaka |url=https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Dome-and-the-Rising-Sun-for-Expo-2025-in-Osaka-61798.html |date=2024-10-28 |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=AsiaNews |language=en}}
Reception
Following Luce's unveiling, she quickly spawned Internet memes, fan art, and cosplay.{{Cite web |last=Leib |first=Rebecca |date=2024-10-30 |title=The Vatican randomly dropped their new anime mascot and it is polarizing the internet |url=https://www.dailydot.com/memes/luce-mascot-vatican/ |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=The Daily Dot |language=en-US |archive-date=November 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241104193518/https://www.dailydot.com/memes/luce-mascot-vatican/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Mauro |first1=J-P |title=Pope culture: Luce storms the world of fan art and cosplay |url=https://aleteia.org/2024/11/24/pope-culture-luce-storms-the-world-of-fan-art-and-cosplay |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=Aleteia |date=2024-11-24 |language=en}}
The designs and general artstyles of Luce and her friends have been compared to anime characters,{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Megan |date=2024-10-28 |title=The Vatican Goes Full Anime With New Catholic Mascot: Watch Now |url=https://comicbook.com/anime/news/anime-character-the-vatican-catholic-japan/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=ComicBook.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Prada |first=Luis |date=2024-10-29 |title=The Vatican Just Dropped an Anime Girl Mascot Named 'Luce' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/luce-vatican-anime-mascot-jubilee-year-catholic-church/ |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=VICE |language=en-US}} and users on websites such as Twitter have joked about the Catholic Church embracing anime visuals. Comparisons were drawn between Luce's design and the designs of Ai Ohto, the protagonist of Wonder Egg Priority,{{Cite web |last=Nazru |first=Ami |title=Internet Goes Crazy Over The Vatican's Unveiling Of An Anime-Styled Mascot |url=https://animehunch.com/internet-goes-crazy-over-the-vaticans-unveiling-of-an-anime-styled-mascot/ |website=Animehunch |date=2024-10-29 |access-date=2024-10-29 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109000945/https://animehunch.com/internet-goes-crazy-over-the-vaticans-unveiling-of-an-anime-styled-mascot/ |url-status=live }} and Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion.{{Cite web |last=Placido |first=Dani Di |title=Who Is 'Luce'?—The Anime Mascot Of The Catholic Church, Explained |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2024/10/29/who-is-luce-the-anime-mascot-of-the-catholic-church-explained/ |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Emanuele Vietina, the director of Lucca Comics & Games, stated that Luce shared characteristics with the character Arale Norimaki from Dr. Slump.
Luce drew mixed reactions from Catholics. While many approved of her, some traditionalist commentators criticized her as "too modern and silly" to represent Catholicism. Some pushed back on the multi-colored rosary, claiming a resemblance to the pride flag; however, the rosary's colors are from the World Mission rosary created by Fulton Sheen.{{cite news |last1=Grace |first1=Alexis |title=Luce: El Camino de Culture Wars |url=https://www.catholic365.com/article/44016/luce-el-camino-de-culture-wars.html |access-date=14 November 2024 |work=Catholic365 |date=November 12, 2024 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=A Rosary For You |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lake-shore-visitor-world-mission-rosary/159057670/ |access-date=14 November 2024 |work=Lake Shore Visitor |date=4 September 1959 |page=6}}
Ken Iikura-Gross of Anime News Network compared the Catholic Church's use of an anime mascot to Buddy Christ from the 1999 film Dogma.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-05 |title=Vatican Introduces New Mascot 'Luce' Designed by tokidoki Founder |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2024-10-30/vatican-introduces-new-mascot-luce-designed-by-tokidoki-founder/.217330 |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Anime News Network |language=en}} In the film, Buddy Christ is a marketable and relatable redesign of Jesus Christ aimed to attract younger audiences to Catholicism. Kevin Smith, the director of Dogma, remarked that "Buddy Christ winked so Luce could dilate".{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Kevin |author-link=Kevin Smith |date=October 29, 2024 |title=Buddy Christ winked so Luce could dilate. I think the Catholic Church is celebrating the 25th anniversary of DOGMA by finally trolling me back. |url=https://www.instagram.com/thatkevinsmith/p/DBtW_1ZP9ZX/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Instagram}}
References
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{{Spoken Wikipedia|Luce (mascot) voiced.ogg|date=2024-10-29}}
Category:Catholic Church in popular culture
Category:Entertainment in Vatican City
Category:Internet memes introduced in 2024
Category:Jubilee (Christianity)