Bishop Fernandes to celebrate Red Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral

Bishop Fernandes will celebrate the annual Red Mass at 5:15 p.m. on October 29, 2026, at St. Joseph Cathedral. Deacon Tom Berg Jr., the Chancellor of the Diocese, invited the public to attend the service and noted that he works with members of the Thomas More Society to organize the event.

The Red Mass is a liturgical tradition intended to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for lawyers, judges, lawmakers, and those working in the administration of justice. The practice is believed to have originated in 13th-century Europe, possibly instituted by Pope Innocent IV in the 1240s for advocates of the Sacred Roman Rota, the highest court of the Church. Following its beginnings in Europe, the tradition spread to the United States, with the first recorded celebration occurring in New York City in 1928.