On Tuesday, October 30th, Kyle and I were sitting together in our office working on different tasks set for us that day. Suddenly, he turned to me after gasping at something he had seen on his phone. He showed me and my immediate thoughts were, “No way, this has to be a joke… maybe a meme his friends sent him.”
Nope. It was real.
The Vatican had commissioned an artist to illustrate a mascot for the upcoming jubilee year, and her name is Luce. She is drawn in a sort of cutesy anime style, wearing a yellow rain jacket, muddy green boots, and a rosary around her neck. The best description of Luce can be found here. However, the reactions to this new mascot are varied among Catholics.
From a positive perspective, some may see Luce as a breath of fresh air for young Catholics, even those on the traditional side. My husband has a circle of friends on Discord – some are young adult Catholic laity and others are seminarians who are all very involved in the Church – and they heart Luce! Of course, they all felt hesitant at the beginning, which is a very understandable reaction when you see anime involved in the Church, but they quickly accepted her for her whimsy, pureness, and child-like faith.
However, when looking at the negative reactions to Luce, I have heard multiple streams of arguments. Some say that the name Luce is terrifyingly similar to Lucifer. Lucifer of course was the name given to the angel by God, and it means “Light Bearer”. Luce simply means “light” in Italian, just as the name Lucy, or Lucille, or Lucia carry the meaning “light” as well. Another argument is that Luce is just a lame attempt at inauthentically reaching Catholic youth; in my observations this could not be further from the truth. Maybe it is just me and my fellow theology nerds at school who see a great sacramental reality taking place in the Luce efforts, or maybe there is something simple and good about this little mascot that many resonate with. One that I have heard a bit of is that this is just another distraction the Vatican has put out so it can avoid talking about actual important things – abortion, euthanasia, lack of penance, poor catechesis of the masses, priest scandals, schisms and splitting, those renouncing their baptisms – the list goes on. These arguers make a point here (I can not remember the last time I heard a homily that mentioned the sacrament of confession, let alone a sacrament you ought to frequent) but should we get rid of Luce for this? Is the creation of Luce just the Church allowing herself to be wed to the times, making her widowed in the next? I’ll let you think about this as I go on.
There is a sort of “in-the-middle” route to take as well, and that could be the thought that Luce is harmless, but she is a waste of materials and does not really add or take anything away from the Church’s mission. Again, this may be true and Luce could only appeal to a very small audience. I will say this though, and this is the main reason I am writing this post, and that is that the Church has something to say to the culture, and vice versa. No we are not of the times, but we are in the times, are we not? All throughout Church history, we have seen the ways that faith and culture are interacting with one another, some of my favorite examples being Sacred Music. My theology Senior Seminar paper is entirely circled around this concept of how the Church is sanctifying the culture around her, and how this is what we are called to do when evangelizing. Thomas Graf, a writer at Catholic Answers, points out that those who are not even Catholic carry a fondness for Luce (article can be found here). Anime is not inherently evil, it is just a bit odd at first when you see the Church making something of it.
My last point pertains to those who think that Luce is just a silly distraction from the Vatican, and that it makes our faith something that is light hearted, and not to be taken seriously. In my life, the holiest and most on fire with the Holy Spirit individuals were those who carried a whimsical like joy with them about the faith. They took their relationship with Christ and their duties to the Church very seriously, but it did not appear like an outward burden upon them. Hope, love, and joy are very necessary virtues that we must have as Catholics who want to evangelize and be in love with our Lord. Even in the most difficult times that we face in our Church, these individuals who carry a joyful light of Christ and hope in our Lord are having the greatest impact. As my good husband often says, “they will never be able to rob me of my whimsy”. In a world where the young Church is constantly berated with bad news – priest scandals, poor catechesis, people leaving the Church, and endless other devastating things – Luce is something that can help us briefly smile at and enjoy.
So, maybe I have changed some minds on Luce. I just think she’s pretty neat.
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