VATICAN (CNS): Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation’s section for new evangelisation and the chief organiser of the Holy Year 2025, unveiled the official mascot of the Holy Year 2025 on October 28.
“Luce” [Italian for light], a cartoon pilgrim dressed in a yellow raincoat, mud-stained boots, wearing a missionary cross and holding a pilgrim’s staff. Luce’s glowing eyes feature the shape of scallop shells, a symbol of pilgrimage and hope.
The mascot, he said, was inspired by the Church’s desire “to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth.”
Luce will also be the mascot of the Holy See’s pavillion at Expo 2025, which will take place in Osaka, Japan, from April to October 2025. The pavillion—which will be inside Italy’s national pavilion—will have the theme “Beauty brings hope,” and display the 17th-century painting The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio—the only one of his works housed in the Vatican Museums.
