‘This isn’t a joke’: The Vatican now has an official anime mascot

Sometimes, the news is so absurd, you don’t quite know what to make of it. You don’t know if it’s good news, or bad news, or neither. You just know that some key part of your previous understanding of common logic has been shattered forever.

And so it was on October 28, 2024, when The Vatican unveiled their official anime mascot.

Yes, you read that correctly. On behalf of the seat of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Rino Fisichella held a press conference to unveil the Vatican’s first-ever mascot for a Jubilee. And it’s Luce, a blue-haired girl wearing a yellow raincoat, rendered in a style suspiciously similar to a chibi anime character. In fact, Luce was designed by Simone Legno, the creator of the heavily Japanese-influence lifestyle brand tokidoki.

To save you a search, a Jubilee is a Holy Year which comes around every 50 years in which debts are forgiven, etc. 2025 just so happens to be a Jubilee. It also happens to be the year of the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, and Luce will be coming appearing there, too.

It’s not even just Luce. No, no, it’s Luce and friends. There is, of course, a dove and a shirtless angel baby. There are more humans in raincoats, showcasing some racial diversity. And last but certainly not least, there is a puppy in a baseball hat wearing a bandana with a shining cross.

Everything about this is absolutely wild. The internet’s collective jaw is on the floor. Riding the Tokyo Metro earlier today, I saw Luce making Japanese headlines as well. I cannot decide which is more surreal: the fact that anime has ascended to this height, or the fact that the Catholic Church has perfectly crafted their own yuru-kyara.

An actually impressive mascot?!

At first, the thing which blew my mind most about Luce was her mere existence. But as I dwell on Luce further, there’s something else which breaks my brain: she’s actually a good mascot.

Perhaps thanks to social media accounts like the delightful Mondo Mascots, you know about Japanese mascots, or yuru-kyara. If you’d like the long explanation, you can watch the video above, which I wrote five years ago. But the short explanation is that yuru-kyara are mascots for towns, businesses, or institutions meant to drive tourism, business, or brand recognition. Sanrio’s Hello Kitty (apparently a girl, not a cat) is basically the root of mascots. Another famous one is that viral red apple cat who rips on the drums, Nyango Star.

The best yuru-kyara incorporate some characteristic of their hometown or business daddy into their absurd, charming design. For example, the aforemention Nyango Star is an apple because he’s more Aomori prefecture, which is famous in Japan for its apples. The city of Narita’s mascot, Unari-kun, is an eel-airplane hybrid because Narita’s two famous features are its delicious eel and its giant airport.

Regardless of whatever my thoughts on the Catholic Church might be, I have to admit that I’m impressed by Luce, whose name is the Italian word for “light.” Designer Simone Legno really did his homework. Luce’s of course wearing a cross—but it’s not even that overbearing. The motto of the Jubilee is “Pilgrims of Hope,” which is where Luce gets her walking stick.

She’s described as “pilgrim dressed as a typical traveler,” whose yellow raincoat references the Vatican flag and whose visibly muddy boots “bear witness to the path she has already traveled.” Her shining eyes symbolize hope and “connection with the divine” or something which brings you squarely back to the organization at hand.

And, look, I can’t believe I’m complementing the Catholic Church, either. But if you’re going to go for the reference, do it fully. Today is a truly strange day.

Anime’s come a long way

The Archbishop who unveiled Luca said the decision to create this kind of mascot was so that Catholic Church could “live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth.” Nowhere in the official print are the words “manga,” “anime,” or even “Japanese” listed. But just looking at the design, especially with the knowledge Luca’s going to the Osaka Expo, there’s no other conclusion as to what kind of “pop culture” the Church is referencing.

It’s ridiculously surreal. 20 or 30 years ago, anime conventions were sparsely-attended affairs in hotel basements, and you were the weird kid if you liked it. Now, Anime Expo is so packed that it broke fire safety rules two years ago, and the Catholic Church is channeling it in the hope that it can seem “hip.”

What strange times we live in.