Pope Francis died unexpectedly during the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, a once-in-a-generation event marked by pilgrimage, forgiveness, and spiritual renewal, Euractiv reported.
His passing, midway through the Holy Year—which runs from December 2024 to January 2026—has thrown the Vatican into uncharted territory, raising urgent questions about how the sacred occasion will proceed.
The Jubilee Year traditionally begins and ends with the opening and closing of the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, a ritual steeped in centuries of symbolism. Pope Francis inaugurated the current Jubilee on 24 December 2024, but his death leaves uncertainty over who will conclude it on 6 January 2026.
The Vatican has yet to clarify its plans, even as Italy’s tourism ministry anticipates up to 35 million pilgrims visiting Rome this year.
Historically, such a scenario has only occurred once before. In 1700, Pope Innocent XII, too frail to preside over the Jubilee’s opening, blessed the event remotely before passing away. His successor, Clement XI, opted to continue the Holy Year and closed the door himself.
Luce the “kawaii” mascot: legacy of modernisation
Amid the uncertainty, one element of the 2025 Jubilee seems poised to endure: its anime-inspired mascot, Luce. Designed by Italian–Japanese brand tokidoki—famed for collaborations with Marvel and Barbie—the cheerful figure in a yellow raincoat, echoing the Vatican flag, and muddy boots symbolises weathering life’s storms.
Pope Francis personally endorsed Luce as part of his broader mission to rejuvenate the Church’s appeal among younger generations. Simone Legno, the mascot’s creator, described presenting Luce to the late pontiff as “truly impossible to describe,” underscoring the mascot’s symbolic weight.
While unconventional for the Holy See, Luce became a hallmark of Francis’ reformist ethos, which won admiration even outside religious circles.
European politicians also paid tribute to Pope Francis’ reformist and peacemaking nature. Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont wrote on X that the pontiff “knew how to understand the challenges of the Church.”
Christianity loses a man of kindness and peace, intelligent and courageous, who knew how to understand the challenges of the Church in the world that is emerging. Rest in peace, Pope Francis.
Meanwhile, former Italian Prime Minister and Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte thanked the Pope for “every teaching,” calling his demise an “immense sorrow.”
The death of Pope Francis is an immense sorrow. His steadfast words of peace, dialogue, and solidarity at all costs are and will remain a guide for all of us in these difficult times. Thank you for every teaching, may he rest in peace.
French MEP François-Xavier Bellamy also expressed regret at the passing of Pope Francis.
From Pope Francis, we will retain the attention to the most vulnerable, the desire to contemplate, in those whom the world too often despises, forgets, or rejects, the face of the absolute. On the day after Easter, he leaves us this act of recognition and hope. Laudato si.
