VIDEO A Red Mass is a Mass celebrated annually in the Roman Catholic Church for all members of the legal profession, regardless of religious affiliation: judges, lawyers, law school professors, law students, and government officials, marking the opening of the judicial year. This year in the US there is a unique lineup of majority catholic supreme court judges.
John Roberts and his wife Jane (in gray dress) leaving the mass in the company of Archbishop Donald Wuerl (holding the gold staff.) Five U.S. Supreme Court justices attended the annual Red Mass in Washington on Sunday, listening as Roman Catholic clergy mourned the death of Justice Antonin Scalia and urged the judiciary to mete out mercy along with justice. Courtesy of Archdiocese of Washington
The Red Mass is celebrated annually at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, traditionally on the Sunday before the first Monday in October, which marks the opening of the Supreme Court’s annual term. Its purpose is to invoke God’s blessings on those responsible for the administration of justice as well as on all public officials.
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By law (28 U.S. Code § 2) the Supreme Court convenes its new term every year on the First Monday in October—this time, Oct. 4. But in some ways, the traditions of the high court begin Sunday, the day before.
That is when the 69th Red Mass will take place at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in downtown Washington. Its aim, according to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, is to mark the opening of the Supreme Court term and to “invoke God’s blessings on those responsible for the administration of justice as well as on all public officials.” It’s called the Red Mass because of the red vestments worn by the dozens of clergy on hand.
The majestic cathedral and its soaring choir and organ music draw not only justices and judges but also law school deans, lawyers, diplomats, members of Congress, cabinet members and occasionally a president. Masks will be required, and the mass can be viewed on YouTube.
This upcoming Red Mass may be historic. For the first time, seven of the Supreme Court’s nine justices are Catholics or have Catholic roots. They are Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. (Gorsuch grew up as a Catholic, but later attended Protestant churches.) The other two justices—Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan—are Jewish. They have ecumenically attended the Red Mass from time to time.
By tradition, the number or names of justices attending are not made public ahead of time. But two justices—Roberts and Kavanaugh—have strong ties to the archdiocese and have been longtime attendees. (The news that Kavanaugh tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday may complicate things.)
Roberts’s wife, Jane, is parliamentarian for the John Carroll Society, the association of professionals in the Washington area that sponsor the Red Mass. It also gives awards for pro bono legal services in the area.
Kavanaugh was an altar boy at the Little Flower Church in Bethesda, Maryland, where Monsignor Peter Vaghi, a lawyer, is the pastor. Vaghi is also chaplain for the John Carroll Society and is an active participant in the Red Mass.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory of the Washington archdiocese will be the main celebrant. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, will give the homily or sermon.
Years ago the sermons, delivered before something of a captive audience, were controversial because of their strident rendition of Catholic doctrine. The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg famously stayed away from the Red Mass after attending once.
In “Stars of David,” a 2005 book by Abigail Pogrebin, Ginsburg said of the Red Mass, “I went one year and I will never go again, because this sermon was outrageously anti-abortion. Even the Scalias—although they’re very much of that persuasion—were embarrassed for me.”
In recent years, the sermons have been more inclusive, spreading themes of unity and civility. In 2017 Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, giving the sermon, said, “There is a time for politics and a time for prayer. This is a day for prayer.”
