The 39th Annual Red Mass will take place on Thursday (October 8) at 6:00 PM at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption. The Red Mass tradition is long standing among the bench and bar. Its origin can be traced to the middle of the 13th century. The Red Mass (so designated because of the red vestments worn by the celebrating clergy, and because it is a Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit) was celebrated in France, Italy and England in the Middle Ages, before the Reformation, and the tradition has continued for almost seven hundred years.
Among the purposes of this celebration are:
- To call on Divine Guidance for lawyers and judges throughout the Saginaw Diocese on the occasion of the commencement of the Fall Term of Court
- To recognize the lawyer's fiduciary duty to client and court
- To esteem the likes of St. Thomas More, and all lawyers great and small, who have sacrificed in order to stand fast on ethical principles - to reaffirm the values of due process, integrity and conflict resolution
- To restate the oath of office