Submitted 1 day ago by Tekkip20@lemmy.world to [deleted]
So some of you might have seen a trend as the Vatican announces their plans to bring god and anime on their side in real life.
The mascot is called Luce, cute anime girl with religious aspects to it.
But mama mia why did they do this for their event next year? It just seems totally unreal and I feel like I’m living in a simulation.
Never have i thought these zealous buggers would use anime influences in a bajillion years
It’s a marketing strategy. They have a product and they’re trying to expand into an un/under-exploited market. What the product is just so happened to be religion, which is increasingly unpopular, archaic, restrictive, controlling, and fictional. They have fairly stringent rules and since the anime mascot doesn’t violate them, they’ll try it out and see if there’s any returns.
It’s a pretty low investment, and it’s not even close to the first cartoon character made specifically to try and hook kids to a religion. It’s only noteworthy because the format is slightly different than past efforts.
What an insane thing to read with no context
And the angel said onto thee “uwu”
It’s giving Onward Christian toddlers
Reminds me of the aesthetics on toys/candy from other countries, but much more polished.
These look basic
Didn’t believe you when reading this, apparently it is? Character doesn’t look that weird and I’m completely surprised the vatican is modernizing this much
!(Luce the raincoat-clad anime girl in chibi style, meaning short, cutesy characters with big heads and stubby limbs)[imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/…/0x0.jpg]
I’m still not convinced in this age of AI image generation.
Man, Ego got old…
Her boots are covered in the blood of innocent altar boys.
Propaganda hits monononi. It’s a critical strike!
Cuz like every major religion they’re hemorrhaging believers and thus, money. Time to shake up the recruitment protocols.
Come to think of it, I’ve heard that all my life but never questioned it. Is it really true for all of them?
That religions are hemorrhaging believers? I think that depends a lot on region and general population wealth. Prosperity gospel shit (the more you donate, the more god will reward you) keeps attracting new believers thanks to their scammy tactics and promises, especially as anyone that “fails” to succeed just lacked faith (didn’t donate enough) - this is especially true in poorer places.
The catholic church has been bleeding members for a while now. This is probably a “fellow kids” attempt to try to get younger people interested again.
Im getting dorra the explorer vibes. But maybe since they see how well shows like Bluey captivate a young audience, it make sense they would want in.
Animated characters allow for the bright flashy lights that keep attention of kids while also allowing you to not use a person who is fallible. You never have to worry about a person doing something nafarious in their personal life and it staining their organization. (Subway, Papa Johns, Sham Wow).
They are a company that basis their decisions on profits after all.
this is bonkers (hadnt heard of it before) and honestly pretty funny considering that every time “god” in the western sense is used in anime the entity or entities are more often than not villainous monsters.
Maybe they’ve only seen Ghost Stories and liked the Christian girl character.
The rule34 will bring in the gooner demographic for them
Common marketing strategy.
Archbishop Fisichella also unveiled the official mascot of the Holy Year 2025: “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 traditional 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.”
Source :the dialog
Seems they’re trying evangelize the kids and are going to where they are. Gives me Buddy Christ vibes to be honest.
Whoah didn’t know the buddy christ meme came from that
He didn’t announce them. They came to us from God. They are here to help us attain a heavenly life.
“Yo big G, can you help us? Our planet is dying!” “Best I can do is official Catholic anime girl.” “Understandable have a nice day.”
Release the buddy Christ you papist cowards
Typical religious wacko trying to lure in kids to be groomed and abused.
Take a shower
Found one.
Because Rule34
AI already got her, the times we live in are, well, the times
To fetch dweeb lords.
So that when they find his hard drives, he can say the person is actually 3,032 years old.
The mascot was specifically made to represent the Holy See at a Japanese expo. It’s essentially the Vatican’s government. Merchandise like this has always been a thing, it’s just this is an official endorsement.
w-what???
The Pope released an anime mascot
A couple years ago they introduced Buddy Christ to try and drum up some interest but it didn’t go anywhere.
Also, why would a religious institution with a modern problem with child abuse is a child as an icon, seems pretty unaware.
Yeah, but that Cardinal Glick though. They should have made that guy pope.
dragontamer@lemmy.world 1 day ago
The Jubilee is a time of celebration for Catholics.
Traditionally, the Jubilee is held every 25 or 50 years and is a time to celebrate progress, free slaves (back when slaves were legal), forgive sins, etc etc.
In a great celebration, it makes sense to add a bit of pop culture flair. It’s also common to focus on children and youth outreach during the Jubilee and an anime character does a lot for that.
ABCDE@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I hadn’t even noticed the shells or the flag, thanks for such a detailed post.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 1 day ago
You say this like we don’t have legalized slaves right now.