She’s no Buddy Christ, though
In what almost feels like a parody of the Kevin Smith film Dogma, the Catholic Church recently revealed a new mascot character for the upcoming Jubilee 2025 event at Vatican City and Expo 2025 at Osaka.
©TOKIDOKI LLC. Design by Simone Legno
Archbishop Rino Fisichella unveiled “Luce” (“light” in Italian) as the official mascot for the Holy See pavilion at Expo 2025 at the end of an October 28 press conference. The archbishop described Luce as (roughly translated), “A happy union between Christian symbols and Japanese culture.” Simone Legno, the Italian co-founder of the popular Japan-inspired brand tokidoki, designed the character.
The Vatican News YouTube channel also posted a four-second animation of Luce waving at the audience that same day:
According to a Catholic News Agency report, Luce is debuting at the Lucca Comics and Games convention running between October 30 and November 3. The news agency also noted Luce will have “pilgrim friends” named Fe, Zin, and Sky, along with what appear to be a pet dog, helper angel, and friendly dove.
©TOKIDOKI LLC. Design by Simone Legno
Although it’s only been several days since the reveal, artists have already made fan art of the Holy See’s new mascot:
#Luce pic.twitter.com/E8wUBlynUe
— JAZZ JACK (@JAZZ_JACK_KHT) October 30, 2024
目と汚れた靴がいい#ルーチェ #Luce pic.twitter.com/XZ9LBOEZpQ
— あいの角膜 (@eye_no_kakumaku) October 30, 2024
I like her eyes and dirty shoes.
Luce is coming! https://t.co/AZSyXC2C5X pic.twitter.com/hoRcDGrv1f
— Diva (@hyxpk) October 28, 2024
Sources: Vatican News – Italiano’s YouTube channel (link 2), Catholic News Agency’s website, Catholic News Agency’s X/Twitter account, CatholicTV’s X/Twitter account, @JAZZ_JACK_KHT’s X/Twitter account, @estylon’s X/Twitter account, @eye_no_kakumaku’s X/Twitter account, @rifunaia’s X/Twitter account, @hyxpk’s X/Twitter account