So some of you might have seen a trend as the Vatican announces their plans to bring god and anime on their side in real life.
The mascot is called Luce, cute anime girl with religious aspects to it.
But mama mia why did they do this for their event next year? It just seems totally unreal and I feel like I’m living in a simulation.
Never have i thought these zealous buggers would use anime influences in a bajillion years
The Jubilee is a time of celebration for Catholics.
Traditionally, the Jubilee is held every 25 or 50 years and is a time to celebrate progress, free slaves (back when slaves were legal), forgive sins, etc etc.
In a great celebration, it makes sense to add a bit of pop culture flair. It’s also common to focus on children and youth outreach during the Jubilee and an anime character does a lot for that.
As for Luce herself. The Jubilee is also a time of great pilgrimages. It’s recommended to get your 'once in a lifetime’s visits to Vatican City (or other local holy sites: Santiago de Compostela, Fatima, Guadalupe). As such, Luce is modeled after the image of Pilgrims: Pilgrim staff, raincoat and dirty boots.
Her eyes are of the seashell, a Catholic sign for pilgrims. The seashells guide pilgrims to holy sites (if you’ve ever been on the Camino, all the next locations are marked with Seashells).
I’m expecting that Luce (thanks to the seashell eyes) will count as an official signpost for the next year of pilgrimages. She’s got incredibly well thought out symbology here.
Edit: I should also note that the raincoat has the 2025 Jubilee of Hope flag on it.
In case you didn’t get what that green spot on the raincoat was.
I hadn’t even noticed the shells or the flag, thanks for such a detailed post.
You say this like we don’t have legalized slaves right now.
Well not IN Italy and the Vatican directly, no.