Did you know that the spacing between letters is known as kerning? I had never encountered the term before, so the high profile botch committed by the stonecutter and those responsible for overseeing the completion of the recently deceased Pope’s tombstone has had at least one salutary effect: it has shined a spotlight on a seldom used word. Thanks, you boobs!

It and they have also revealed stunning ineptitude and carelessness at the highest level of public visibility and historical permanence. The kerning between the letters on Pope Francis’s tombstone make the ten letters read “F R A NCISC VS, rather than how it was supposed to read, “FRANCISCVS,” his name in Latin.

Brilliant. I wonder…. what’s the punishment in Hell for poor workmanship?

So, as the saying goes, “Wha’ happened?” The New York Times spends a lot of time and type explaining what can be accurately described in the same terms as the desiccated toe in the plug of tobacco that is the essence of “res ipsa loquitur,” or “the thing speaks for itself”: “Someone has been very careless.”

An editor at Fast Company, a magazine about business, technology and design, was among the first to notice the lettering negligence, reports the Times [Gift link!]. “Why does it look like pressing on the letter ‘A’ will open a secret chamber where the ark of the covenant is stored?” joked Elle Cordova, a digital creator, comedy writer and grammarian.“It looks like they downloaded a bootlegged version of Times Roman without any kerning data embedded in the file, brought it into some ancient software, like Adobe Scribe 1517 A.D., and then let the software space the letters,” she said. “And this is what you get: an abomination unto design.”

“It may have been laid out as individual letters, and not actually typed,” suggested Charles Nix, the senior executive creative director at Monotype, one of the world’s largest typeface and technology companies. “So it may not have been a font that created the template for it. It may have been that individual letters were put on whatever pattern was used, and they were spaced mathematically as opposed to visually.” A lack of kerning is common on grave markers, Nix told the Times, especially those from the 20th century onward because they are produced “very mathematically.” That method is far less costly and can accommodate much more text, he added.

But this was only ten letters!

Paul Shaw, a type and design expert, told the Times that the poor spacing was predictable because “RAN” and “CVS” have letters (RA and V) that historically have needed adjustments by hand. “Pope Francis’ name was just cranked out by someone operating a stonecutting machine, probably via sandblasting from a template prepared on a computer,” he said.

Oh. So in other words, someone has been very careless.

The Times finally tells us that “a representative of the Vatican could not immediately be reached for comment about the lettering.”

Of course not. It’s hard to give a statement while you are being burned at the stake.

The episode brought back a bad memory. I was responsible for acquiring an ornamental plaque to be unveiled at the dedication of the “David G. Bress Promenade” at the Georgetown University Law Center, after I had persuaded the widow of the prominent D.C. lawyer to give a financial gift in his honor to GULC. An impressive list of judges, lawyers and other dignitaries were on hand for the ceremony along with the press. To my horror, when the completed plaque arrived on the morning before the dedication (it was a week late), I saw that it had “promenade” spelled “promenode.” I was frantic, and prepared to fall on my metaphorical sword.

“Don’t worry,” said my friend and boss, then GULC dean David McCarthy. “I know just what to do!” The dean, a man of impressive girth, positioned himself blocking the typo for the entire dedication and reception, and never moved.

I sent the plaque back to be corrected as soon the ceremony was over.