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The Vatican recently launched a program called ‘Luce’The new mascot has sparked widespread discussion. This mascot is designed in the style of Japanese animation, forming a sharp contrast with the traditional solemn image of the Vatican.Luce “means” light “in Italian, symbolizing hope and guidance, and is the theme for the Jubilee of 2025. At present, the Vatican is striving to attract young people through such designs, making it easier for them to resonate with the culture of the church.
2025 is an important Jubilee year in the Vatican calendar, occurring every 25 years and welcoming millions of pilgrims. To welcome this grand event, the Vatican has invited the renowned Italian artist Simone Legno to design this mascot. Luce has a distinct design, with blue hair and a yellow raincoat that draws inspiration from the Vatican flag. The raincoat symbolizes moving forward in the storms of life.
「Luce」Holding the pilgrim’s staff symbolizes the eternal pilgrimage journey, while her boots are covered in mud, symbolizing the arduous journey. The shell highlight in its eyes is a traditional symbol worn by medieval Catholic pilgrims,Luce still hangs a string of rose prayer beads, emphasizing its religious background.
「Luce」It was officially unveiled on October 28th and will represent the Vatican at the Osaka World Expo in 2025. The introduction of this character has sparked heated discussions on social media, with many young people expressing support for it, believing that modern design can attract more young people to participate in religious activities and promote the integration of church and popular culture. Young artists quickly beganThe secondary creation related to ‘Luce’ and comparing her to other well-known anime characters, such as Ayanami in ‘Evangelion’, although the actual inspiration is more likely to come from the blue headscarf of the Virgin Mary.
However,Luce is not without controversy. The traditional view is that this modern design is too childish and lacks the sacred solemnity that expresses the Catholic faith. In addition, some reviewers also associated the name “Luce” with LuciferLenovo together, although such a connection was quickly rejected.
Although ‘Luce’The emergence of this character has triggered different reactions, but it also marks an important step in the cultural adaptability of the Church, demonstrating the Vatican’s intention to attract young people through this cute character and change its outdated image in the past. On the other hand, Simone Legno’s background has also raised doubts among some conservatives, mainly because he has been involved in discussions withActivities related to the LGBTQ community and designing products for some adult brands have raised concerns among some traditional believers about their suitability as designers.
Simon Lenio was born into a Catholic family in Rome, and his profound love for Japanese culture greatly influenced his creations. In 2004, he moved to Los Angeles and founded the brand “tokidoki”, whose cute style is clearly influenced by Japanese culture and street art. For Lenio, tokidoki is a beautiful world full of joy, imagination, life, and dreams.
In ‘Luce’On the day of its launch, Simon Lenio stated on Instagram that Jubilee is an opportunity to communicate with people from all walks of life, especially young people, and he hopes toLuce can represent the pursuit of the younger generation. Although ‘Luce’ may not have gained the love of all believers, she undoubtedly achieved success in cultural influence.
Launched only a few days ago,「Luce」It has swept through the cryptocurrency field, and the eponymous meme coin was launched on October 29th. Although the “Luce” meme coin is not officially issued by the church, its massive Catholic user base has led to its value soaring to $77 million, rapidly increasing hundreds of times. However, investors still need to proceed with caution.