Red Mass for justice, mercy celebrated at cathedral

St.-Thomas-More-1527-©-Frick-Collection

Sir Thomas More, 1527.
Hans Holbein, the Younger.
© Frick Collection, New York

Brian Horgan —

The 89th annual celebration of the Red Mass took place on Oct. 3, 2013 at St. Michael’s Cathedral. The celebrant and homilist was His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto. The guest speaker at the dinner at Osgoode Hall was Conrad Black.

Cardinal-FI

Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, blesses the congregation of justice-related professions.

RCMP honour guard stands at entrance to St. Michael's  Cathedral
RCMP honour guard stands at entrance to St. Michael’s Cathedral

The Red Mass is traditionally celebrated to invoke the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on behalf of those involved in the administration of justice. It has a particular significance for judges, lawyers, police officers and others associated with the legal process.

The Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit is celebrated annually to mark the beginning of the Michaelmas term of the courts. Michaelmas term is the first term of the academic year in many English-speaking universities and schools. It derives its name from the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (September 29th). The Red Mass takes its familiar name from the colour of the vestments worn by the Mass celebrants.

Having been introduced in England during the reign of Edward I in the year 1310, the Red Mass has been held annually at Westminster Cathedral, London, since 1904.  Its celebration in France began in 1245 in Paris.  The Red Mass is celebrated in most major cities in North America.

The Red Mass was first held in Toronto in 1925.  Its sponsorship was assumed by the Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel in 1931.  In 1965, the Thomas More Lawyers’ Guild of Toronto was formed.  The current President of the Guild is Dan Edmondstone.

The Guild’s objectives include the sponsorship of the Red Mass and the promotion of the intellectual and spiritual welfare of its members. The Guild models itself on its patron, Saint Thomas More. Lawyer, judge, statesman, scholar, writer, husband, father, martyr, saint: he was, as Erasmus described him, “A man for all seasons.”

The Red Mass is a reminder to all that human law is based on the eternal Law of God and Divine Justice and Mercy.