Now there’s a computer font based on St. Teresa of Avila’s handwriting

Fr. Martín Larios scanned the saint’s writing so we can type exactly as she wrote.

Want to write like a saint? Now you can, thanks to the work of a Carmelite priest who has created a computer font based on the actual handwriting of the great mystic and Doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Avila.

Carmelite friar Fr. Martín Larios scanned the writing of the great saint and mystic (her writings on prayer and contemplation, The Way of Perfection (1583), The Interior Castle (1588), Spiritual Relations, Exclamations of the Soul to God (1588), and Conceptions on the Love of God are considered masterpieces to this day). After meticulously scanning thousands of words, he came up with a workable font for people to easily download to their computers.

The new Teresan font could come in handy for those occasions in life when one might want to use a computer font that carries a certain mystical aura. Whether that might involve writing one’s own spiritual journal, printing out a favourite prayer, or creating an inspirational meme, what type of font to select is not unimportant. The right font could add an element of authenticity that is lost when one types, rather than writes by hand.

All too often, when the popular Times New Roman or Arial fonts don’t seem to carry the right ethereal aura, the spiritually-minded writer turns to the much-maligned Papyrus font. Frequently used for signage at vape shops, massage parlors, and menus at ill-fated restaurants, Papyrus gives off a sort of Disney-fied whiff of biblical times. In short, the prayer you shared online might have been well-intentioned, but your cheesy font ruined it.

Now, thanks to the work of Fr. Larios, we can type out our own work, confident that it is exactly as St. Teresa of Avila would have written it.

courtesy: Aleteia .com

  Avila computer font, Catholic Church, development