2023 Red Mass

2023 Red Mass
October 26, 2023 at 5:30 p.m.

As in prior years, we joined together to worship the transcendent Source of all justice and to renew the spiritual dimension of our vocation as lawyers.  This year’s honoree was Tim Crudo — a long-time member of the STMS, an admired friend of so many of us, and–like our patron–an example showing that faith and reason, zealous advocacy and fairness, the rule of law and the law of love, can indeed coexist in the same person.

Date: October 26, 2023, at 5:30 p.m., Sts. Peter and Paul Church.  A reception followed at the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club. 

Originating in the Middle Ages and now celebrated annually in San Francisco and around the world at the opening of each Court year, the Red Mass seeks blessing and guidance for judges, attorneys, law school professors, law students, government officials, and others involved in the legal and justice systems, and indeed for all who seek justice. In England, the custom dates back to the reign of Edward I (1272-1307), and in France jurists have gathered since 1248 in La Sainte Chapelle to attend Mass at the commencement of the new Court Calendar. Its name refers to the red vestments traditionally worn to symbolize the Holy Spirit’s descent upon the Apostles at Pentecost. It also recalls the scarlet robes worn by royal judges who attended the Mass centuries ago.

Please check back for more information about the Red Mass in 2024.