Annual Red Mass for State’s Legal Community

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence in conjunction with St. Thomas More Society will host the annual Red Mass on Wednesday, October 3th at 5:30 p.m. at Holy Ghost Church, 472 Atwells Ave., Providence, RI. Msgr. Albert A. Kenney, Vicar General of the Diocese of Providence, will be the Celebrant. The homilist will be Fr. Ryan Connors, S.T.D., Professor of Moral Theology at St. John’s Seminary in Boston.

The Red Mass provides an occasion for members of the Bench and Bar, along with their families, friends and associates, of all religious denominations, to join in praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their legal work and that of the judiciary. It is also a time to remember those members of the legal community who have died in the past year and pray that their souls be granted eternal rest. 

The Red Mass is celebrated in dioceses across the United States each October to mark the opening of the judicial term. According to the St. Thomas More Society, the “Red Mass” is a historical tradition within the Catholic Church dating back to the Thirteenth Century when it officially opened the term of the court for most European countries. The participants—government officials, lawyers and judges precede into the church clothed in red vestments, signifying the fire of the Holy Spirit’s guidance to all who pursue justice in their daily lives.