Ian Mulgrew: Red Mass returns to Vancouver, uniting lawyers and clergy in one church

The Red Mass — no, it’s not the latest slaughter in the Game of Thrones franchise but a medieval Roman Catholic rite uniting the church and the courts.

Mention the secret society with Jesuit roots, the Illuminati or Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code fantasies, however, and Warren Smith will derisively snicker.

A lawyer with an eponymous legal headhunting firm, Smith explained the event organized by the roughly 200-member St. Thomas More Catholic Lawyers’ Guild emphasizes the shared goals of the two societal institutions.

“Not necessarily doing work on behalf of the Catholic faith in the region,” Smith added.

“Typically, meetings are a gathering for fellowship and to chat about common moral and ethical issues that intersect with faith and the law.”

The first Red Mass since COVID-19 health orders prevented the faithful from congregating will be celebrated on Oct. 18 at Holy Rosary Cathedral, the late 19th-century French Gothic revival church at Dunsmuir and Richards.

The later sold-out dinner at the Terminal City Club will feature Supreme Court of Canada Justice Russell Brown.

“The way I would describe (the guild) is that we are there as a resource for the archbishop should he need it,” Smith said.

“If you look around the list of the people who are quite active (in the guild), there are some pretty powerhouse partners basically at every major firm in the city.”

Ottawa-born Archbishop Michael Miller arrived in Vancouver from the U.S. to shepherd the area’s 430,000 Catholics in 2009 when, though widely celebrated in Alberta and Ontario, there was no red mass in B.C.

The ceremony seems to have originated in Paris in 1245 and spread to England around 1300 during the reign of Edward II.

The colour of the scarlet vestments and robes of the original judges matched the red representing the Holy Spirit that Christians believed appeared after the Crucifixion of Jesus as tongues of fire over the heads of his disciples bestowing wisdom, understanding, counsel and fortitude.

Participants were to reflect on their power and responsibility and to pray for guidance both for themselves and for those seeking justice.

Two of the most prominent contemporary celebrations occur at Westminster Cathedral, in the U.K., and at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, in Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, the diplomatic corps, the cabinet, other government officials and sometimes the President of the United States attend the American mass.

Although John F. Kennedy was the only Catholic president until Joe Biden, six of the nation’s nine current Supreme Court justices are Catholic.

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Given the ubiquity and prominence of the Red Mass in the U.S., it’s little wonder Archbishop Miller reached out to Smith.

He and lawyer Bruno De Vita invited other lawyers to form a committee that organized the first Red Mass, and became the nucleus to join the network of St. Thomas More guilds.

A Renaissance lawyer, judge, author of “Utopia,” and Lord High Chancellor of England from 1529 to 1532, More opposed Henry VIII’s break with the Catholic Church.

He was executed for opposing the annulment of the king’s marriage and refusing to bow to him as the head of the new Church of England.

In 1935, More was canonized as a martyr and, in 2000, Pope John Paul II declared him the patron saint of legalists, statesmen and politicians.

Smith said the guilds promote the independence of conscience, freedom of belief and values More exemplified:

“During the pandemic, this was where the guild really did step in. The whole issue around the ban on in-person church attendance lasted for a considerable period of time. There was a lot of conversation among the guild and with the government at the request of the archbishop.”

Catholics believe in transubstantiation — that during every mass the priest miraculously transforms bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus, which constitutes the eucharistic sacrament a celebrant must be present to receive.

“So the option of doing church virtually as a Catholic was really not viable,” Smith stressed.

“And there was a period of time when people were allowed to go to restaurants, theatres and gyms, but going to church was still not permitted. Certainly, that raised some questions among the Catholic faithful.

“It was a good example where I think the Catholic lawyers were able to articulate a position to the government and encourage them to think about the balance between how to protect the public but also religious freedom.”

Members of the guild, many King’s Counsel, include — Hector MacKay-Dunn, Celso Boscariol, Jacy Wingson, Randy J. Kaardal, Rosemarie Wertschek, Sergio Custodio, Brian T. Duong, Christine Oberti, Gwendoline Allison, Rhys Volkenant, and Shashika Stanislaus.

“Christians, and Catholics in particular, are often reluctant to make their faith public because of the concern that it might be construed negatively by others in the profession or clients,” said Robert C. Piasentin, a partner at McMillan.

“However, there is so much that is beautiful, powerful and meaningful about Catholic teachings, especially in the legal world, and to have a support network to help bring that message both to other Catholics and also to the broader community is a wonderful grace.”

imulgrew@postmedia.com

twitter.com/ianmulgrew

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