Franciscus: First Official Digital Font of the Catholic Church

The friars of the Sacro Convento di Assisi, ahead of the centenary of the magazine San Francesco, commissioned communication agency Studiogusto to create a new typeface. Franciscus, officially the first digital font created ad hoc for the Church, was developed drawing inspiration from 13th-15th century manuscripts held in the Biblioteca del Sacro Convento and from frescoes in the Basilica di San Francesco. It is a serif, open-source font, freely downloadable and available to all, inspired by the ancient tradition of amanuensis writing but designed for contemporary communication of the religious group's activities. Father Enzo Fortunato, director of the Press Office of Assisi, commented: "This new font is the fruit of our commitment in recent years to communication and research. It will certainly mark a cultural turning point in the digital realm. It will be offered free of charge to anyone who wishes to use it, in harmony with the inclusivity that distinguishes us. It will be used for the monthly magazine San Francesco and the website sanfrancesco.org, which aim to represent the Franciscan embrace of every person."