The upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year will be an opportunity for Catholics of all ages and backgrounds worldwide to embark on a journey — literally and spiritually — that can redefine their understanding of the faith.
In an effort to help spread the message to younger generations of Catholics, the Vatican will be calling on a kawaii (the Japanese word for “cute”) face to help spread the message to younger generations. Her name is Luce. A Japanese anime-style art rendering, Luce is the designated mascot for the upcoming Jubilee. She was designed by Italian artist Simone Legno, who is most well-known for his Tokidoki art series.
The motto of the 2025 Jubilee Year is “Pilgrims in Hope,” which comes alive in Luce’s brightly colored ensemble. Luce is “depicted with the typical elements of the pilgrim,” explained Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and the Vatican’s chief organizer for the jubilee.
She wears a yellow raincoat “to shelter from the weather, boots mud-stained from traveling, a missionary cross around the neck, the pilgrim’s staff, and above all, glowing eyes, a symbol of hope of the heart,” Archbishop Fisichella said.
Her eyes even contain the symbol of the Camino de Santiago, one of the world’s most popular pilgrimages.
Related: Understanding the Jubilee and Its Roots From the Bible
Luce’s style departs from the Church’s more traditional religious motifs and art styles such as the customary statuary, larger-than-life paintings, and stained glass preserved in places of faith worldwide. The mascot has gone viral on social media among Catholics and non-religious alike. Some have even turned her into a collectible form of digital currency as an NFT.
Luce Jubilee 2025 mascot 🇻🇦
I honestly love her design and couldn’t help but make a fanart of her. She looks so adorable that she makes me want to hug her. 😍#Luce #Vatican #Jubilee2025 #fanart #mascotverse https://t.co/eQpi9TTRgB pic.twitter.com/AikcBMEZBb
— ルーちゃん平成 (Lucy)🌻🇺🇦🎄 (@lucia_bros) November 1, 2024
Abbey Ley, a New York-based graphic designer and branding expert, told The Tablet she thought Legno bridged “Tokidoki art with the Church really well” in his design of Luce. Daniel Rober, an associate professor of Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, noted that it’s wrong for people to judge Luce against traditional Catholic art.
“Some lines of interpretation have tried to put Luce in comparison or competition with traditional sacred art and found her wanting, but I think her designation as a ‘mascot’ indicates that this is an attempt to engage with a distinct artistic style and purpose [different] than traditional sacred art,” Rober told The Tablet. “Luce is an example of inculturation, drawing upon Japanese anime imagery to express a vision of hope and joy and appeal to young people among whom this is a popular art form.”
Ramya Kuppa, a graduate of St. John’s University who enjoys consuming anime art and media, noted it’s not the first time animation has been used as an outreach tool to younger generations. “The crux of a majority of animation is themes of hope, friendship, and good defeating evil,” Kuppa told The Tablet. “It’s always been the crux of comics across the globe.”
The history and current popularity of comic and anime culture reflect the reality of the Catholic Church, according to Jade Alexa, a former parishioner of St. Mary Mother of Jesus Church in Bensonhurst and fellow anime fan. Alexa, who now lives in New Mexico, appreciates the aspect of youth outreach within the design.
“I do think it’s important to ‘meet kids where they’re at,’ so to speak,” she said. “so Luce really feels right on that level.
“Hope is a message we should be sending the kids, and it’s so cool she’ll be at those international events.”
