Abp. Rino Fisichella with Travisani at the Apostolic Palace. Photo: churchmilitant.com
Pope Francis' choice of a logo for the Vatican for 2025 associated with an LGBT “rainbow” has caused a storm of outrage among Catholics.
The Vatican announced Giacomo Travisani, a gay designer and masseur, as the winner of its contest for the logo of the Jubilee Year 2025 at a press conference in the Apostolic Palace. The image, which resembles the rainbow symbol of the LGBT community, sparked a storm of outrage in the Catholic community, reports Church Militant.
Travisani wiped his personal Facebook page clean on Friday morning as controversy over his sexuality and profession escalated, after outspoken Catholic politician and writer Mario Adinolfi alleged the logo's designer is a homosexual, advertising his dubious services on a related website.
According to Abp. Rino Fisichella, Pope Francis personally selected Travisani's design from the top three logos, with a total of 294 entries from 213 cities and 48 different countries. In doing so, the identities of the designers were coded, and Pope Francis was guided only by his own taste.
In an interview with Church Militant, renowned British art historian Caroline Kaye said the average person would unequivocally associate the new Vatican logo with the current gay pride fashion. "Francis must know this," Kaye noted.
A Vatican statement described the four stylized figures in the logo as representative of all of humanity from the four corners of the earth embracing one another in fraternity. While the first figure is clinging to the Cross, the figures have waves beneath them symbolizing the turbulent pilgrimage of life.
"The logo is a dishonest misappropriation of the biblical rainbow… <...> The logo's broken circle, cut into by the tail end of a thin blue wave and a bent cross, ought to suggest a holistic circle to represent the infinite, never-ending love of God," commented Biblical and religious studies specialist Caroline Kaye.
The art historian also lamented the poor quality of the design, which lacks " any of the weight or gravitas one might expect from the Vatican".
Logo author Giacomo Travisani explained in an interview he conceived "the first figure in his logo to be that of Pope Francis embracing the cross, followed by the rest of us".
The Jubilee Year 2025 has been declared the Year of Hope by the Vatican. “The Vatican presents its emblem of hope as a badge of 'pride.' And pride comes before a fall," art historian Kaye warned.
As reported, an RCC bishop has threatened to ban the Pope from entering Ukraine.