Annual Red Mass set for Alaska’s attorneys, lawmakers

CatholicAnchor.org
The annual Red Mass takes place on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Anchorage.

Held annually in many American cities, the Red Mass is a special liturgy when the Catholic Church prays for all who practice law, especially asking the Holy Spirit’s guidance for attorneys, judges and politicians.

Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz will celebrate the Mass, which will be followed by a brunch and presentation at 11 a.m. at the downtown Marriott Hotel. Father Patrick Travers, the judicial vicar for all three dioceses in Alaska, will give a talk during the brunch entitled: “The foundation of Natural Law in American Law.”

The Red Mass origins can be traced to the 13th century, when the first known Red Mass was offered on behalf of the supreme court of the Catholic Church, the Roman Rota. Various traditions arose in England and France for a special Mass to be offered at the beginning of each term of a court year.

The first Red Mass in the United States was celebrated Oct. 6, 1928, in New York City. Between 250 and 300 judges and lawyers attended this event. To this day, an annual Red Mass is celebrated on the Sunday preceding the first Monday of October at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The congregation is often composed of Washington’s elite: the president, Supreme Court justices and government officials.

The choice of red as the color of the vestments for the Mass comes from two traditions. First, red is the color attributed to the Holy Spirit as the church prays for guidance for those who administer the law of the land. A later tradition connected the color red to the martyrdom of Saint Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers and politicians.

Saint Thomas More was canonized in 1935, 400 years after his death. His canonization came during a period of political turmoil when Pope Pius XI wanted to show the world a model of a statesman who could resist unjust secular authority.

The St. Thomas More Lawyers’ Society of Alaska sponsors the annual Red Mass celebrations in Anchorage.

All are welcome to the Mass. To make reservations for the brunch, which is $40 a person, contact Jenny Michaelson at jmichaelson@caa-ak.org or call 297-7729.