January 6, 2026, marks the end of the Jubilee Year in the Catholic Church. For those who do not know, a Jubilee Year is a special time of grace, forgiveness, and renewal within the Catholic Church. This Jubilee Year has the theme Pilgrims of Hope and calls us to focus on our own faith journey with God and to seek deeper communion with Him.
As one does, the Vatican decided to create its first-ever mascot for this occasion. In an effort to associate with the younger generation, they combined both modern pop culture and the spiritual—the yin and yang—and thus “Luce” was born. What seemed like a huge backfire actually became an astounding hit. The anime-inspired, blue-haired action figure’s popularity skyrocketed the second she was announced by the Vatican, and she became a meme legend. I have included an example of just one of many tasteful memes that have come from this.
Another piece of big news for the Church this past year was the election of a new pope. With the unfortunate death of Pope Francis, the Church held its first papal conclave since 2013. After just two days of prayer and voting, white smoke appeared, a resounding Habemus Papem was heard, and the first American pope was declared: Pope Leo XIV, or “Papa Leone,” as the Italians would say. As Americans, we have taken pride in our new pope, who hails from Chicago. So much so, the White Sox, his favorite baseball team, invited him to throw the first pitch at a game and even made him his own jersey. His papacy has been one of peace thus far and has been highlighted by a focus on the dignity of human life at all stages and a renewed respect for the traditional doctrines and practices of the Church.
We have had many canonizations this past year as well, most notably St. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, who were canonized on September 7 by Pope Leo XIV. They are two great role models for us to look up to. The two of them were devoutly Catholic young men who lived out their faith and brought both their families and friends closer to Christ. St. Carlo Acutis is the patron saint of the Internet and is known for his website documenting and explaining all of the certified Eucharistic miracles. St. Pier Giorgio Frassati is the patron saint of mountain climbers, athletes, the youth, and students, and is revered for living out the ordinary aspects of life with great holiness.
As this Jubilee Year comes to a close, and as we celebrate the rest of Advent and the Christmas season, may we follow the examples of these two incredible saints and pray in hope for our country, that in this new liturgical year our nation may take more pride in our Catholic faith and live it out.
