Luce: El Camino de Culture Wars

Three weeks ago, Archbishop Rino Fisichella unveiled a new Vatican mascot in anticipation of the 2025 Jubilee Year. Fisichella is part of the Dicastery for Evangelization, as well as the main organizer for the jubilee, and he shared how the mascot, “Luce”, was designed with the intention “to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth”. Despite this cheery mission, Luce was met with almost as much push back, as she was love. The reasons were varied. This article will explain what those reasons were, provide rebuttals, and explore why this was actually a brilliant stroke of genius on the part of the Vatican’s PR team.

Luce was created in a cartoon, anime-like art style that is reminiscent of Tiny Saints, Pokémon, and the Power Puff girls combined. The choice in art style was clearly influenced by Pope Francis’ recent trip to Asia and Oceania. She is a young girl with light blue hair, a yellow sailors’ jacket with a green version of the Jubilee logo on it, muddied green boots, a pilgrim’s staff, and a rosary. Part of the reason she was created, was to represent the Vatican at the Universal Expo 2025, which will be held in Osaka, Japan. She will be accompanied by her pilgrim friends Fe, Xin, and Sky, dog Santino, angel named Lubi, and a dove name Aura. So what’s the problem with Luce? Well apparently…everything.

One of the first criticisms was that her name was too similar to Lucifer’s. While “Lucifer” means “light bearer” and is pronounced loo·suh·fr, “Luce” simply means “light”, and is pronounced loo·chay. The ablative Latin case gives it the female gendering in Italian, and it is a popular feminine name. (In fact, Luce was announced just one day before the feast day of the young Blessed Ciara Luce Badano!) Perhaps hand-in-hand with the meaning and pronunciation of the name, was the claim that Luce couldn’t possibly be a girl, but instead was secretly a non-binary character. Given Luce’s young age, like with many young children, the most obvious physical characteristics of her sex are obscure, and it would be concerning if they weren’t. Looking at her and the other young girl she is friends with though, and comparing them with the depictions of their young male friends, there are subtle distinctions.

The color of her hair was brought up as a supporting fact that the Vatican had some ulterior motive to depict Luce as non-binary, or something like that. But Pope Francis published a declaration in April of 2024 that stated that gender theory is harmful to the dignity of the human person, so that seems very unlikely. Additionally, anime characters are often depicted with unnatural, brightly-colored hair as a symbol of their personality or character arc. Blue hair on a girl indicates shyness and intelligence. Based on the shade of blue, I think it’s also fair to say that Luce’s hair color honors the Blessed Mother’s mantle as well.

Luce was also accused of wearing a rainbow rosary, and it scandalized many that she was wearing a rosary in the first place. But the rosary is actually a World Mission Rosary, which was created by Blessed Fulton Sheen. The different colors represent different parts of the world where the Catholic Church evangelizes and supports missions. When it comes to wearing a rosary around your neck, the main thing to keep in mind is intention. It is not inappropriate to wear a rosary, rosary bracelet, or rosary ring, as long as it is done with respect and reverence, as a reminder to pray, be faithful, and to keep it close by you. Under no circumstance should it be worn simply as a jewelry fashion statement. Considering that Luce is a pilgrim on a journey, it makes sense for her to be wearing it; it can be assumed that like most pilgrims, she prays it at least once a day!

Another objection I saw, was to Luce’s eyes. Some thought her eyes were creepy, with the “hand with ten fingers” reflected in them. On the contrary, the design is actually a depiction of a scallop, a symbol long-associated with pilgrims. The “fingers” thought to be seen are actually the ridges of the scallop, which symbolize all paths leading to one place, just like on the many walks to the Cathedral in Santiago, where the tomb of St. James is. During medieval times, pilgrims also used scallop shells they found as bowls or cups, or to measure portions, and kept them attached to their cloaks. Today they are used on signs to show the way on the trails, and as souvenirs to take home after the journey.

The stick Luce carries was also an object of scrutiny, with some claiming that it resembled a witches stang. Thankfully, there is no need to worry. A stang forms a V or a U of sorts, with each arm more or less branching from the center at equal angles. Luce’s staff clearly shows a stick that goes straight, with a part that branches off to the side and up, but is slightly shorter, which was used as a hook to hang things off of. This ensures that it is indeed a pilgrim staff, which you can see HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Many complained that the idea of having a Vatican mascot is an embarrassment, and said that Jesus, His Cross, or any of the saints could have served the same purpose. While I understand the point they were trying to make, in my opinion they may not have been thinking this through all the way. Christ is the central figure of our faith. To reduce Him, or the reality of His Cross, to simply a mascot, is to do an irreverent disservice to His purpose and His Passion. I think it would be truly inappropriate to swap Jesus in for Luce, given Luce’s purpose. As I said earlier, she was created because the Vatican wanted to draw attention to the Church’s Jubilee year celebrations. In an effort to extend the invitation of the Church into the secular culture, the Vatican has secured displays at two major conferences, the first being the Lucca Comics and Games convention held in Lucca, Italy, every October, and the second being the 2025 Universal Expo being held in Osaka, Japan. The Vatican’s Expo pavilion theme is “Beauty Brings Hope”, and alongside Luce and friends, the Vatican Museums is loaning Caravaggio’s “The Entombment of Christ” to the display, a somber contrast but beautiful piece of art. This is important, because some seem to think that presenting Luce is a way to discard the beauty of art in the Church, which is simply not the case. Luce’s fun, cute, and modern style attracts attention and then draws it to something deeper and more beautiful…the reality of our faith. Christ is very much being included in this display, which I think is fitting since Luce’s purpose as a pilgrim is to seek a deepened relationship with Jesus, and to point us in the direction of Him in the process. She is a pilgrim. He is the end goal. Similarly, I feel it would have been inappropriate to use a saint instead of Luce. The saints are patrons to us and provide us with spiritual support, as real human beings who lived lives of virtue that we can aspire to. Luce, as a mascot, represents us as pilgrims on the quest to become saints ourselves. This subtle difference seems to be lost on so many, and I believe that this misunderstanding is one of the main reasons many are so offended by Luce. She isn’t an example to look up to, so she doesn’t need a back story other than her current vocation as a pilgrim. She’s a blank slate because she is US, the members of the Church militant, along with her other friends.

One criticism of Luce that I do actually agree with, is the choice of artist that the Vatican hired, Simone Legno. He is the founder of tokidoki, a brand that often makes gay pride art. His past and creations are littered with sexual material, lust, and everything wrong with a secular view of sexuality and the dignity of the human person. I think about all the young Catholic artists that I know, who love cartoony, anime-like art styles, and who would have leapt at the chance to create Luce, and it is hard for me to wrap my brain around why the Vatican didn’t think of this. For example, my brother drew the art for my necklace business’ logo, which you can see HERE. Additionally, the fanart that stormed the internet and particularly Twiiter/X after Luce was announced, just further proves my point. The Vatican had the chance to involve the Catholic youth in a rare opportunity, and instead they chose not to. This is something that I absolutely believe they should be held accountable for so they avoid making the same mistake in the future. I must admit, that while there is no excuse I can think of that justifies the choice of artist, it did have a curious effect. Because the tokidoki brand is so popular among the LGBT circles of our youth, it did catch their attention even if only briefly, some of them even musing online that maybe it was time to give the Church another try. While it can be assumed that they were joking, this is the exact hope that we should have, as we find ways to enter into the culture and call it to something greater and fuller. At the end of the day though, I think we can pray for Luce’s artist, that maybe this experience of working with the Vatican will inspire him and his fans to a life of virtue, even if there was a missed opportunity for the young Catholic community.

After all, I am a big believer that even if unconverted, God makes Himself known even within secular culture. It’s in the very etymology of the word. The “cult” of God, or the “worship of God” exists in culture because all that is good comes from Him and points us back to Him. The good fruits of culture, the arts and science, are a participation in the worship of God whether they are meant to be or not, because they are means by which we creatures give Him glory. Culture cannot be separated from the “cult” of Him that is the Creator and source of all that is good.

Luce is a tool to evangelize. Whether the Vatican purposefully made her for shallow reasons or did it with the intention for more, her existence is the stuff of PR genius that is going underappreciated. If she doesn’t resonate with you, it’s probably because you are not her intended audience. But for the youth who are being inundated with secular culture, she is a breath of wholesome air, an invitation to the Church, a summons to deeper faith, and a message that more than anything else, each and every one of us has a calling to pilgrimage and the arms of Christ.