On a journey with Luce and her friends

The Jubilee Year has started, and we are all invited to become Pilgrims of Hope. In his latest encyclical, Dilexit Nos (“He Loved Us”), Pope Francis encourages people to be pilgrims on a journey to share Jesus’ love with others. In our diocese, we can make pilgrimages to the six Holy Sites to live the Jubilee Year to the fullest and to get Plenary Indulgences. The Holy Sites are the Cathedral and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Corpus Christi, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Alice, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Sarita, Our Lady of Schoenstatt Shrine Lamar in Rockport, and Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Pawnee.
 
While passports are available at parishes or as printouts on our website (click here) to collect stamps at the different sites, children have a unique mascot that guides them through the pilgrimage: “Luce,” a character designed by illustrator Simone Legno in Anime style, goes on a pilgrimage with them.
 
Luce (Italian for light) is clearly a pilgrim – she wears a rain jacket, a rosary with a missionary cross around her neck and mud-covered boots for the journey. Particularly evocative are Luce’s eyes, which shine with an intense light: they symbolize the hope that is born in the heart of every pilgrim; they embody the desire for spirituality and connection with the divine and are a reminder of a universal message of peace and brotherhood. She is not alone – her dog Santino and her friends Sky, Fe and Xin are with her on the journey. And a little angel, Iubi, accompanies the whole group.
 
Luce was presented during the Vatican press conference on October 28. For our diocese, Adel Sauceda from the Office of Communications created a coloring sheet that serves as a children’s passport. It features Luce and all her friends, the cities of our Diocesan Holy Sites, and a rosary. It is printable in two sizes and can be colored each time a family visits a Holy Site. Now, you can start planning your pilgrimage – with family, friends or with your parish! Not all Holy Sites are open daily – visit the parish website or contact the parish offices. A visit still counts for a Plenary Indulgence if you pray outside the Church, receive communion within seven days, and go to confession within 20 days.