The Vatican City has very surprisingly introduced an anime mascot, blending tradition with modern culture. This initiative reflects the Church’s desire to connect with younger audiences and engage them in meaningful ways. By embracing this medium, the Vatican probably aims to reach out to today’s youth while staying true to its core values.
Ever since this mascot character was introduced, many people have had several confusions about the mascot, like who, when, why, and many more. Luckily for you, we have it all broken down here.
Who Is the Vatican’s New Mascot?
The Vatican has now released its really cute anime girl mascot named Luce. She’s small and Chibi-like and has blue hair. She also wears a yellow raincoat and wears a cross.
Luce is newly designed as the Catholic Church’s new child-friendly mascot for the upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year, which is all about hope, forgiveness, and holy pilgrimages.
What Does Luce Mean? What Does She Symbolize?
The name “Luce” simply means light in Italian. While the word light may have many meanings, here, it could simply mean someone who illuminates the way or the right path.
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From her appearance, Luce seems to be a pilgrim as she wears her coat and a cross and even carries a staff while she walks. Her raincoat and muddy boots symbolize her perseverance during her pilgrimage.
Why Does The Vatican Have An Anime Mascot?
The fact that the Vatican has an anime mascot character would normally come across as really shocking to most people. Many older catholic people aren’t quite suppotive of this notion.
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A discussion on whether the introduction of an anime mascot for the Church’s event is right or wrong is quite beyond our scope and expertise, however we do know the intentions behind the creation of Luce, and there’s no ill intent behind it.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the organizer for the jubilee, has said, “The mascot was inspired by the Catholic Church’s desire to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth”. Luce was designed by an Italian pop-artist, Simone Legno.
At an age where more and more people are getting disconnected from their culture and beliefs, this is a way of the Catholic Church to try and connect with their newer generation, and to make them feel included and comfortable with their own culture.
How Popular Is Luce Among The Young Generation?
Although the introduction of Vatican’s new mascot came across as odd to people of all generations, it was still well accepted by many on the internet. This is quite evident with all the meme’s and fanart out there on the internet, and boy is there a lot! Here are a few of the best ones out there:
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There’s a ton of great fan art out there too, we urge you to see them all as they’re a treat to the eye.
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Quite simply put, most of the feedback on Luce that we’ve seen on platforms like Twitter (X), and reddit seem to be supportive of Luce. How could one hate her when she’s that cute?
Does Luce Resemble Any Anime Characters?
There are many people on the internet who’ve made claims that Luce resembles a few anime characters. Since she’s a Chibi characters, it’s hard to say that she’s a copy of another character just due to a few similarities.
Some claim that Luce resembles Rei, from Neon Genesis Evangelion, due to her blue hair. Others say she resembles the Morton Salt girl (no surprise if you wouldn’t know her as she was a mascot from over a century ago). However, Luce bears the most resemblance to Ai, from Wonder Egg Priority.
Although what Ai is wearing is a hoodie, and not a raincoat, they do bear a striking resemblance due to the blue hair and short stature.
When Will Luce Have Her Debut?
Although Luce has already been revealed on the internet, and also gotten tons of support online, she’s still yet to have her official debut.
Official debut is scheduled to be at the Lucca Comics & Games convention in Lucca, Italy, in the first week of November. She’ll 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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