For the first time: Vatican presents mascot for the Holy Year
Rome/Osaka - The Holy Year 2025 is just around the corner, a major Catholic event that will not only feature "pious" programmes, but also plenty of culture and social initiatives. And: for the first time, it has its own mascot.
Published on 29.10.2024 at 10:57 –For the first time, the Vatican is advertising a Holy Year with its own mascot. "Luce" ("Light"), a pilgrim figure about 30 centimetres tall with huge manga-style eyes, is a tribute to pop culture, which is so popular with young people, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella in Rome on Monday. The Italian artist Simone Legno designed "Luce". The mascot wears a yellow anorak, a pilgrim's staff, a cross around her neck, boots dirty from travelling "and above all the symbol of hope of the heart in her shining eyes", said the Pope's representative for the Holy Year 2025.
The major Catholic event, which normally only takes place every 25 years, is being organised under the motto "Pilgrims of Hope". According to Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, "Luce" will be shown publicly for the first time at the international comics and games fair from 30 October to 3 November in Lucca, Tuscany.
Opening of the Holy Year on 24 December from 7 pm
Pope Francis will open the Holy Year on 24 December at 7 p.m. in St Peter's Square, Fisichella announced. In the course of the evening, the Pope will then open the so-called Holy Door at St Peter's Basilica. On 26 December, Francis will also open a Holy Door in the Rebibbia prison in Rome as a sign of hope for all prisoners worldwide, as he himself wrote in his announcement for the Holy Year ("Bull").
The Pope had also suggested to governments worldwide that they grant amnesties for the Holy Year, which goes back to the Jewish tradition of Jubilees, Fisichella recalled. With this in mind, an agreement was signed on 11 September with Italy's Justice Minister Carlo Nordio and Rome's Mayor Roberto Gualtieri to offer special rehabilitation measures for prisoners during the Holy Year.
Diary and app for the Holy Year
There is an extensive programme for the feast year, which Catholics associate with the plenary indulgence of sins, among other things, emphasised the commissioner Fisichella. A jubilee calendar and an app are now available online and are constantly being updated. The cultural programme makes up a significant part of the Holy Year programme. Even before the opening, concerts and exhibitions will take place, including the performance of the 5th Symphony by Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) and the presentation of the "White Crucifixion" by the Jewish-Russian painter Marc Chagall (1887-1985).
The Vatican will also be taking part in Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, with its own pavilion under the motto "Beauty brings hope", which will feature an extensive programme. Among other things, the Vatican Museums will be showing the "Descent from the Cross" by Caravaggio (1571-1610) as part of the world exhibition from April to October 2025. Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums, said that even though it would be quite a long time, they were happy to part with the painting, one of Caravaggio's major works, for this important exhibition. (KNA)
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