Beauty in what we see draws our hearts higher.
Beauty in what we read matters deeply.
And beauty in what we pray is more vital still, because it lifts our whole being toward heaven.
The books that hold the Church’s official daily prayer should unite each of these forms of beauty in a singular way.
On Ash Wednesday 2027, the Catholic Church in the United States will begin praying with the second edition of the Liturgy of the Hours. Ascension’s edition features a thoughtfully improved layout, with special touches designed to ease the transition to the new translation while preserving the timeless, trusted experience of praying with the Church.
Designed with Care in Denmark
Typeset by one of the world’s greatest typographic design studios, 2K/Denmark, each page of the Liturgy of the Hours is brought to life in a beautiful, intentional, and readable form. This top-of-the-line Danish printshop specializes in typesetting the world’s most beautiful Bibles, making them the very people to curate the page layouts of the Catholic Church’s prayer.
“I think beauty and faith are interlocked. The beauty of the language for prayers, the beauty within––we're trying to make it show on the outside––and that's our deepest inspiration.” – Klaus Krogh, founder and CEO of 2K/Denmark
Following Ascension’s guidance, 2K/Denmark worked carefully to balance white space with text to create page layouts that feel authentic, intuitive, appealing, and most of all, conducive to prayer. But for the Liturgy of the Hours to speak beautifully from the page, something else had to be crafted first: the strokes of print that would give voice to the perpetual prayer of the Church.
To the Letter: The All-New Ascension Serif
“What's the sound of the printed word? That's actually the type design. The type design gives the flavor and the spices to the printed word. So when we're creating a typeface like the Ascension Serif, we are creating a voice for the Liturgy of the Hours.” – Klaus Krogh, 2K/Denmark
The sacred words of prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours required a presentation that would reflect their timelessness better than a standard commercial typeface could offer. This is how the Ascension Serif came to be: a brand new font specially created by 2K/Denmark for this project based on the rich tradition of classically styled book typography.
Little details in the lettering of the Ascension Serif gently guide your sight across the lines of text, so that your eyes can lead your soul into something clear, ordered, and contemplative. Every line, curve, and proportion––the large x-height, the even spacing and stroke widths that provide a balanced appearance, the open inner forms that make small letters readable––was carefully designed to support the words of the Church’s prayer.
“When people see a [prayer book] that they recognize as readable, it’s all these choices that made it readable: the typeface, the size, the kerning. We create beauty that actually creates a difference in the way you perceive the message,” Klaus comments.
Ascension Serif needed to serve practical constraints––to be comfortable enough on the eyes for extended periods reading and praying. It also had to fulfill spiritual needs by properly keeping the cadence of prayer. Both were accomplished through meticulous, dedicated work with one very important tool: the human eyes of those designing it. Klaus and his team knew it was a big job.
“The awareness that this is going to be used the next 50 years every day shows you the importance of the choices you make. We're aware of that and we try to create at the same time something new, something fresh, but also keeping the reader’s mind focused … so every time they open the book, they feel welcomed back.”
Preorder Ascension's Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition
What’s On a Page?
“In a book, you’ve got the book design, you’ve got the book layout, and you’ve got the book typesetting … The layout is when the page identity is going to be established.”
– Klaus Krogh, 2K/Denmark
Each page of the second edition of the Liturgy of the Hours has an identity crafted from careful attention to spacing and proportion in the arrangement of hymns, psalms, readings, and antiphons. A few improved features make the traditional feel clearer to follow so that you’re never lost, never guessing, and always focused. Each page heading tells you three things:
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Where in the liturgical year you’re praying. Navigational tabs list the liturgical season. Subtle, they’re situated on the thumb edge of the page to guide you without interfering with prayer.
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What you’re praying is listed towards the inner margin of the left-hand page. Morning Prayer? Office of Readings? Daytime Prayer? No question, it’s clearly there for you.
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When you’re praying shows up at the inner margin of the right-hand page, telling you whether it’s a feast day, Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent, or the Vespers text that you're good to use throughout Lent until Holy Week hits.
The single column text layout maximizes as many letters on each line, and as many lines on each page, as possible. Black and red lettering in hierarchical weights and sizes list the dates, prayer titles, and descriptions. Ultimately, it’s the Liturgy of the Hours layout you know, just slightly leveled up to be intentional, intuitive, and inviting. As Klaus explained,
“The awareness that this is going to be used the next 50 years every day shows you the importance of the choices you make. We're aware of that and we try to create at the same time something new, something fresh, but also keeping the reader’s mind focused. I think that's a balance you have to look for. So every time they open the book, they feel welcomed back.”
Catholic Beauty? Boxes Checked
In the Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas writes that we call something beautiful if it is pleasing to behold, specifically according to three qualities: integrity, proportion, and clarity. It’s safe to say that Ascension’s second edition of the Liturgy of the Hours checks all these boxes:
Integrity –– in the ordered appearance of each page that gives a sense of wholeness to each little bit of prayer.
Proportion –– in the harmonious typography and thoughtful arrangements of text and white space.
Clarity –– in the font, headings, and spacing on each page.
We think it’s safe to say that St. Thomas Aquinas would approve.
These qualities in Ascension’s second edition Liturgy of the Hours collection will help maintain the Church’s prayer through time and space for generations to come.
Preorder Ascension's Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition
Watch the full video of Klaus Krogh from 2K/Denmark explaining the layout, typeface, and design choices for the new Liturgy of the Hours here:
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