Vatican Anime Mascot Lucy Goes Viral on the Internet Thanks to Catholic Memes and Fan Art

Washington, DC Newsroom November 3, 2024 / 08:00

Vatican presented an anime-style mascot named Lucy as the representative of Catholic pilgrims in the 2025 Jubilee on Monday, October 28 – and within a week the character had already become a viral internet sensation.

In less than seven days, hundreds of memes and fan art of Lucy (pronounced Loo-Chay) appeared on social media sites such as Facebook, X, Reddit and TikTok and spread across platforms.

The character has become particularly popular among Catholic meme accounts and groups, but is also present in non-Catholic spaces, such as among anime artists, Protestant meme accounts, and some secular and political meme accounts. This also inspired halloween costumes and the creation of a cryptocurrency called Luce Token, which has a market capitalization it surpassed 50 million dollars.

Symbolism of Lucy

Lucy, which means “light” in Italian, is a blue-haired mascot who wears a rosary around her neck and a yellow cape that symbolizes the journey through life’s storms and reflects the color of the Vatican flag. She wears green muddy boots, symbolizing a long and difficult journey, and holds a staff, symbolizing a pilgrimage to eternity.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization commissioned the creation of the character, which was designed by Italian artist Simone Legno, who owns tokidoki, a company that creates Japanese-designed products. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the main organizer of the Vatican anniversary, unveiled the mascot during a press conference.

Many of the memes inspired by Lucy contain Christian messages about prayer and protection from the devil. One popular memewhich parodies the famous scene from The Shining, shows Lucy using her staff to knock a hole in a wooden door and stick her face through the hole while the devil cowers in the corner. Some others picture Lucy kneeling in prayer.

Several Luce memes circulating on the Internet also contain pro-life messages. like one it depicts Lucy rescuing a baby from a Planned Parenthood abortion center. Some memes placed Lucy side by side with the Crusaders.

Father Matthew P. Schneider, LC, a Catholic priest with a large social media following, embraced the mascot. creating themes on X with over 70 of his favorite Lucy fan arts. Some of the amateur artists are Catholic, but dozens of amateur anime artists who typically create secular art have also jumped on the trend.

“I like Lucy, the mascot of the sacred year 2025” Schneider said on X. “These images seem to be a good Christian adaptation of modern culture or inculturation.”

Catholic Answers endorsement?

Thomas Graf, social media manager for Catholic Answers, wrote in article on Thursday that he was initially worried that the character would be a failed attempt to “make Church cool and relevant.” However, he notes that he was eventually supported by some Catholics of all age groups.

“Lucy is undeniably adorable,” Graf wrote. “You may not agree, but I have to give credit to the creators: they managed to create an image of childlike faith and innocence. And the symbols of pilgrimage embedded in her character—dirty boots, the shells of the Way of Santiago in her eyes, the pilgrim’s cross and the rosary of the World Mission—are elusive. Nothing evokes an overbearing “Jesus is COOL, kids!” stupidity, let’s say VBS mascots“

Non-Catholic Christians also took advantage of Lucy’s thread to create their own versions of the character.

One post The Anglicanism subreddit has developed an Anglican version of Lucy with symbolism that represents their own denomination. Lutherans on Facebook And X did the same thing by creating Lutheran versions of Lucy and claiming she had converted, causing a strong backlash from Catholics who reclaimed the character. Some Orthodox Christians made similar posts.

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“I’ve seen a lot of posts like ‘I’m not Catholic, but Lucy is so cute’ – THAT’S HOW WE WIN.” said one Twitter user.

Not all Catholics are fans

Despite Lucy’s success on social media, not all Catholics are fans of the character.

Traditionalist Catholic theologian Peter Kwasniewski wrote on X that “even if Lucy is not ‘evil’, the fact that she is kitschy, cutesy, malcontent, materialistic and childish is already an insult to the religion of Logos.”

Kwasniewski also criticized Legno, the artist who created the character, calling him a “moral degenerate”. Legno tokidoki promotes gay pride and has partnered with a sex toy company.

Edward Feser, Catholic philosopher and professor at Pasadena City College, also criticized the character on X: “Infantilizing young people with a dumb version of Catholicism does them a disservice.”

Some traditionalist Catholics, such as The Daily Wire host Michael Knowles, support Lucy.

“I attend a traditional Latin mass,” Knowles wrote on X. “I wear bow ties. I read old books. I smoke cigars. I am married and have three children under four years old. I’m what they call a trad. And I’m a fan of Lucy.”

The Vatican intends to continue working on the talisman. Lucy appeared at the Lucca Comics & Games show in Tuscany, Italy over the weekend and will also appear at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan next year.

Tyler Arnold is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency based in the Washington bureau of EWTN News. He previously worked at The Center Square and has published in various publications, including the Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative and The Federalist.