Red Mass seeks blessing and guidance for those in the legal profession
By Mary Powers
In a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, members of the legal profession gather at the beginning of each court year for the annual Red Mass, seeking blessing and guidance for judges, attorneys, law school professors, law students, government officials and others involved in the legal and justice systems.
The “Red Mass” is named after the traditional red robes worn by judges and also the Catholic custom of wearing red for the votive Mass of the Holy Spirit, which is said for the Spirit’s intercession for the legal community. The Red Mass originated in Rome, France and England, with the first recorded Red Mass in the United States in 1928 in New York City.
Sponsored by the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco, the oldest fellowship of Catholic lawyers and judges in the west, the Mass brings together the legal community for prayer and fellowship, while also recognizing an outstanding member who exemplifies the spirit of St. Thomas More.
St. Thomas More, a 16th-century lawyer, judge, diplomat and scholar, was martyred by the King of England for refusing to submit to the “Oath of Supremacy” declaring King Henry VIII the head of the Church of England and granting him the authority to divorce Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn.
The 2024 awardee is attorney James A. Lassart, a shareholder at the firm of Murphy Pearson Bradley and Feeney. Mr. Lassart is a former prosecutor with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and U.S. Department of Justice and a retired brigadier general in the United States Army Reserve.
The 2024 Red Mass will take place on Sept. 19 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in San Francisco and will be followed by a dinner at the Italian Athletic Club. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone will be the principal celebrant with Albany Bishop Edward Scharfenberger concelebrating and delivering the homily.
Learn more about the Red Mass and the St. Thomas More Society at: https://www.stthomasmore-sf.org/.
Mary Powers is the assistant director of communications and media relations for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.