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Bringing faith and work together
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October 5, 2023The Red Mass is a special service attended by local judges, elected officials, lawyers, and members of the public, calling upon God as the supreme lawgiver for His guidance and blessings on the administration of justice and those whose duty it is to teach, judge, and resolve legal matters.
The tradition dates to the 13th century. The first Red Mass is believed to have been celebrated in the Cathedral of Paris in 1245, and after that, the tradition spread throughout Europe. A Red Mass was initially celebrated to mark the beginning of the annual term of the courts. It was called “Red Mass” because the justices of the English Supreme Court wore scarlet robes. Over time, the “Red” Mass came to have a deeper theological meaning, with red symbolizing the “tongues of fire” and, thus, the Holy Spirit.
In the United States, the first Red Mass was celebrated in 1877. Today, many dioceses throughout the United States celebrate a Red Mass each year, with fellow Catholics in the legal community and persons of all faith traditions in attendance.
This year’s Red Mass in Corpus Christi will be celebrated on Wednesday, October 18, at 6 pm at Corpus Christi Cathedral, with a reception to follow at St. Joseph’s Hall. This year’s keynote speaker is Amy Uelmen, Director for Mission and Ministry, lecturer and senior research fellow at Georgetown Law School.
“I've always been curious about how to bring my faith and my faith commitments into my work as a lawyer,” she says. “Much of my reflections and teaching revolve around bringing those worlds together, where your faith can support your commitment to your work for justice as a lawyer, and it can also help sustain the larger community.”
Uelmen grew up in California and worked for five years as a litigator in New York City before moving into the field of education, first at Fordham Law School, New York, and since 2011 at Georgetown Law.
As an educator, she has an eye on the next generation: “What brings them hope? How can we respond to their sense of service, of work for justice in the world?” She wants to transmit to them that there's a community, that there are other people who care about bringing faith and work together, “and that’s what the Red Mass is about – an opportunity to come together.”
Many canonized saints were lawyers: most people may be aware of St. Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers and government officials. However, these saints were also attorneys: Ss. Ambrose, Pope Gregory the Great, John Chrysostom, Cyprian, Charles Borromeo, Alphonsus Liguori, Francis de Sales, Thomas Becket, Raymond of Penyafort, Capistrano, Paulinus of Nola, Cajetan, Turbius of Mongrovejo, and Fidelis of Sigmaringen.
