Here is “Luce”, the brand new jubilee mascot 2025 in Rome

Fluo yellow waxed, boots covered with mud, blue hair and childish air. Not enough to put a Catholic label at first, except its rosary around the neck. And yet, here is the robot portrait of “Luce” (Light, in French), the official mascot of the jubilee “Pilgrims of Hope” 2025 in Rome. Japanese manga looks, a choice that speaks to young people. An aesthetic bias at the service of an obvious evangelizer design.

Do the work of dialogue between generations

Choosing pop culture and, more specifically, Kawaii aesthetics (Japanese and colorful Japanese aesthetic, editor’s note) as the official jubilee effigy owes nothing to chance. “Luce” and the other mascots want to energize and dust this planetary event by carrying a message of fraternity, sharing, hope and reception within the church. The Vatican seeks above all to seduce new generations, while enrolling in a broader dynamic: imply young people and encourage intergenerational dialogue within the Church. “We hope that this mascot will accompany us and that it can appeal to everyone,” said Mgr Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for evangelization and organizer of the Holy Year, during its presentation to the public, in October.

And the design of this “pilgrim” could help. Imagined by the Italian artist Simone Legno (brand “Tokidoki”), specialized in POP illustration, “Luce” embodies a traveler guiding youth to Esperance. With its yellow wax, its bright colors, its multicolored rosary, its pilgrim stick – borrowed from Saint Roch – and its immense eyes encrusted with scallops, the figure embodies a desire for spirituality and connection with God. She would thus echo a universal message of peace and fraternity for young people. For the prefect of dicastery for evangelization, this design responds to “desire to live in pop culture, so much loved by our young people”, wanted by the Holy See, in 2025.

A criticized mascot

Barely presented, already vilified. “Luce” is not unanimous in all the faithful. Many Christian media and circles castigate a representation deemed “little Catholic”, described as Woke and Gayfriendly by its detractors. Like the media online Christian tribune which fears that the image of the church will tarnish or be mocked by this collaboration. “The Holy See seems to have been seduced by the sirens of a certain Wokist marketing, to the detriment of its sacred mission,” he strangles. He calls for “figures that truly embody Christian values”.

Another tension point: the profile of the artist Simone Legno. Known for some controversial positions and creations, the Italian is criticized in particular for having designed, in the past, both a “vibrator” and LGBT illustrations. In 2020, he had for example created illustrations for the Pride Marche in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California (United States). “Isn’t it disturbing that the Vatican was not concerned about the associations of this creator with articles such as devil-shaped vibrators and rainbow unicorns? Asked the Christian grandstand. Reference to a line of vibrators developed by Legno.

Despite criticism, the little mascot will represent the Vatican during the Japan Expo in April 2025 in Osaka (Japan), after a presence at Lucca Comics and Games (Lucca’s comic book festival, Italy), from October 30 to 3 November 2024.