Most Reverend John C. Favalora
Archbishop of Miami
Most Reverend Robert N. Lynch
Bishop of St. Petersburg
Most Reverend John H. Ricard, S.S.J.
Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee
Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito
Bishop of Palm Beach
Most Reverend Victor Galeone
Bishop of St. Augustine
Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski
Bishop of Orlando
Most Reverend Frank J. Dewane
Bishop of Venice
Most Reverend Felipe J. Estévez
Auxiliary Bishop of Miami
Most Reverend John G. Noonan
Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

cordially invite you to attend the
Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit
historically known as
The Red Mass

Wednesday, the Tenth day of March
in the year Two Thousand Ten,
Six o’clock in the evening at
The Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More
Woodward and West Tennessee Streets
Tallahassee, Florida

Homilist
Most Reverend John C. Favalora
Archbishop of Miami

Reception immediately following
at the Co-Cathedral Center

The Red Mass is an adaptation of the Church's age-old expression of dependence on God to the peculiar needs and institutions of the Courts and the Law. In it we call upon God the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, to grant light, inspiration and guidance to those serving in the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of government.

The custom of a special Mass for the Bench and Bar arose principally in England, France and Italy in the early 13th century. The first recorded Red Mass was said in 1245 in the chapel of the Order of Advocates, La Sainte Chapelle, which was built by King Louis IX of France who was canonized as St. Louis. In certain localities in France, the Red Mass was celebrated in honor of St. Ives, the patron saint of lawyers, who was born in Brittany in 1253 and canonized in 1347. The custom ended in 1904 when the French Parliament, as part of the trend towards secularism, prohibited the celebration of the Red Mass.

In England, the tradition of the Red Mass began about 1300 during the reign of Edward I. The entire Bench and Bar attended the Red Mass together at the opening of each term of Court; the feast days of St. Hillary (January 11), Easter, the Trinity and St. Michael (September 29). Since the priest wore red robes, the judges of the High Court in Edward I's time, who were all doctors of the law, conformed to ecclesiastical tradition and also wore red robes. Therefore, the celebration became popularly known as the Red Mass.

Many scholars today maintain that the name has a deeper origin. The liturgical red signified the willingness to defend the truth inspired by the Holy Spirit even at the cost of shedding one's blood. Since the Mass asks the Holy Spirit to keep lawyers and judges alike true to the truth of justice, the devotion is called the Red Mass.

In Florida, the Catholic Bishops continue the Red Mass tradition, inviting the people who serve in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government to join them in prayer and ask the Spirit of God to guide and direct them in their service to the people of Florida.