It is a young girl dressed in a yellow raincoat and Wellington boots, wearing a crucifix around her neck and holding a pilgrim’s staff in her hand. Named Luce (“light” in French), the new mascot of the Holy See for the jubilee of the Compostela Holy Year 2025 was unveiled at the beginning of November 2024 by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, organizer of the event.
If the archbishop emphasized the mascot’s link with “pop culture, so loved by our young people” and said that Luce’s large, glowing eyes were a symbol of “the hope that is carried in the heart of every pilgrim”the character inspired by Japanese anime divides the faithful. Because, problem: Simone Legno, the Italian artist behind its design, previously worked on designs for sex toys, raises the British daily The Telegraph.
Some wonder if the Vatican was aware that Simone Legno had been working on products linked to Gay Pride events and on a line of Lovehoney sex toys, including the “mini bullet vibrator” and the “wand vibrator”. In any case, the artist’s professional past enrages conservative Catholics, already very critical of Pope Francis and his efforts to reform the Church and make it more inclusive.
According to them, gay rights and sex toys do not correspond to the fundamental values of the Catholic Church. “Ten million artists in Europe and the Vatican chooses this one. It’s not an accident.”scolded one of them on the site Catholic Vote.
Called a homophobe and a satanist
Peter Kwasniewski, a traditionalist Catholic commentator, described the artist as “moral degenerate” whose previous works are “almost pornographic”. This traditionalist also affirmed that the eleven years of Pope Francis’ pontificate were marked by “the increasingly shrill defense of the indefensible, the rejection of evils that cry out for vengeance to heaven”.
The Vatican has unveiled the official mascot of the Holy Year 2025: Luce (Italian for Light).
Archbishop Fisichella says the mascot was inspired by the Church’s desire “to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth.” pic.twitter.com/hVU2CmYA3O
— CatholicTV (@CatholicTV) October 28, 2024
Simone Legno is a recognized artist, having worked for brands such as Hello Kitty and Marvel. For him, having collaborated with the Vatican is a “tremendous honor»as he assured during the presentation of the drawings. “I could never have imagined that I would bring my humble artistic contribution, pop culture, kawaii culture, to the Holy See. I am extremely grateful to the dicastery for evangelization for having opened its doors to my art”he also wrote on his Instagram account.
The artist then defended himself: “I get criticism from everywhere. There are people who have called me a homophobe because I worked with the Vatican, while others call me a Satanist because ten years ago we collaborated on a sex toy line. »
At the end of October, the mascot Luce had already found himself at the center of a controversy because of its appearance – close to the aesthetics of Japanese manga –, “too far from Christian art”. Still, Jubilee 2025 is expected to attract nearly 25 million tourists and pilgrims to Rome. This major event for the Catholic Church will officially open on December 24, 2024 at 7 p.m.
Source: www.slate.fr
