PORTLAND

Bishop Robert P. Deeley will serve as the principal celebrant and homilist at the Red Mass at 11 a.m., Oct. 2, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. Judges, lawyers, canonists, government officials and people of all faiths are invited to attend the annual Mass, during which the bishop asks for God’s blessing upon those who serve in the legal profession. The red vestments worn by celebrants symbolize the presence of the Holy Spirit and are reminiscent of the traditional bright scarlet robes worn by the attending royal judges centuries ago.

Bishop Deeley has an extensive background in the legal field. In 1978, with his appointment as Secretary to the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston, he began a ministry in the Tribunal which would last for more than 20 years, including ten years as Judicial Vicar. He assumed the presidency of the Canon Law Society of America in 2000 and served at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome from 2004-2011. The bishop earned both a Licentiate of Canon Law degree in 1983 and a Doctor of Canon Law degree, summa cum laude, in 1986 from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

The Red Mass is a tradition that dates back to the early Middle Ages when Pope Innocent IV is said to have invited the Ecclesiastical Judicial Court in 1243 to gather to ask God’s blessing through the invocation of the Holy Spirit on the work that would be conducted in the court.

“Lawyers, judges and all others in the legal profession can be helped by the Holy Spirit guiding them in faithfully providing their noble service to society,” said Bishop Deeley. “That noble service is the public exercise of law for the common good, working together as professionals with the wisdom and insight that are God’s gifts. During the Red Mass, we will call upon the Holy Spirit to bless those who work in the legal profession in their administration of justice.”

Following the Mass, a luncheon will be held at the Portland Regency Hotel on 20 Milk Street starting at 12:15 p.m. The Honorable Jon David Levy, U.S. District Judge, will serve as the luncheon’s keynote speaker. Prior to joining the federal bench in Maine in 2014, Judge Levy was an Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (2002-2014) and previously served as a Maine District Court Judge (1995-2002). From 1983 to 1995, he worked in private practice in York, during which time he wrote a book entitled Maine Family Law, which was published in 1988. Judge Levy received his J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law and earned a bachelor’s degree at Syracuse University in 1976.

People of all faiths are invited to attend both the Mass and the luncheon. Reservations are required for the luncheon. To reserve a spot at the luncheon or download a registration form to be mailed in, visit www.portlanddiocese.org/r edmass. For more information, contact Dave Guthro, Communications Director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, at (207) 321-7810 or at dave.guthro@portlanddiocese.org.