Just a few days ago the Vatican unveiled a new cartoon mascot as the “cheerful face of the Catholic Church’s upcoming holy year.”

The mascot is named Luce which means “light” and is intended to engage a younger audience and guide visitors through the Jubilee year (2025).

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Vatican’s chief organizer for the Jubilee, said he hopes Luce “will allow us to speak to younger generations about the theme of hope, which is more central than ever in the evangelical message.”

Here is some of the symbolism included in their character design for Luce and her friends…

What I’ve found fascinating is that in a sense, this idea has worked already, but perhaps not in exactly the way the Catholic Church thought it would. It seems to me that they were aiming for a cute mascot like Hello Kitty for little kids and tweens, but what I have noticed in the few days since its announcement is an explosion of fan art and memes revolving around the character.

So, while I’m no expert on whether the cartoon will also be a hit with the kids in 2025, the idea seems to have already sparked the imagination of adult anime fans worldwide and started conversations across the net. While many of those conversations are predictably anti-Christian and/or anti-Catholic specifically, the conversations are happening. So, whereas it might not have been their primary aim, if cultural engagement was one of their goals, we can say this has already been achieved.

(Sorry for not attributing the artists, as these are viral memes I couldn’t find a way to locate the original artist, but if you know them please comment and I’ll add the names)

Here’s my own fanart/parody