“The Red Mass has its roots in medieval Europe where Holy Mass would be offered at the beginning of the legal year in order to invoke the Holy Spirit upon all those charged with upholding justice,” explains Catholic attorney Matthew Clark of the Clark Law Office in Lansing.

“Similarly, the Red Mass in Lansing will bring together lawyers, legislators, judges, and other legal figures, all into a place where we can receive the blessing and guidance of the Holy Spirit as we strive to remain faithful to Jesus Christ — Truth incarnate — in our professional lives over the next 12 months.”   

Pictured next to Matthew on the page opposite are fellow Catholic attorneys, Sarah Meinhart of Pear Sperling Eggan & Daniels of Ann Arbor and Fredric Heidemann of the Thrun Law Firm of East Lansing. 

Both Matthew and Fredric are converts to Catholicism. A former liberal Protestant, Matthew recalls how he “read his way into the Catholic Church” after he graduated law school at Michigan State University. At around the same time, Fredric was making the same intellectual journey, but “from the starting point of a militantly atheistic family.” 

“I converted to Catholicism when I was a freshman at the University of Michigan,” says Fredric, “some may think that is one of the most bizarre places, and bizarre times of life, to convert to Catholicism — but that’s the Holy Spirit!”  

Sarah is a cradle Catholic, although she describes her youthful practice of the faith as “always yearning for more.”  Through pursuing a legal education at Ave Maria Law School in Michigan, now relocated to Florida, she was met with an opportunity to engage in a deeper understanding of Catholicism.

“It was refreshing to be part of the Ave Maria community and to experience the many facets and depth of the Catholic faith,” recounts Sarah. 

“At first-year initiation for law school we were told by Professor Molly Murphy that we had two directives: to be exceptional attorneys and exceptional Catholics. I distinctly remember sitting up straight and feeling a sense of not only striving for a law degree but being part of a mission to fuse the faith with our desired profession.”

The first recorded Red Mass was celebrated in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1245. From there, the custom spread to most other European countries. In the United States, the first Red Mass was held in 1877 at Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Detroit. 

It is thought the name “Red Mass” derives from the color of the vestments worn by clerics at such a Votive Mass to the Holy Spirit. Red is also the color of robes worn by judges in many European countries and, less frequently, in some legal jurisdictions across the United States.  

“I think that the importance of the Red Mass is, ultimately, grounded in the importance of law to Catholic spirituality and to life in general,” explains Fredric. 

“Law is the precondition for a just, peaceful, and properly ordered society — that’s true in secular society, in our daily lives, in our families, and it’s also true in the Church which is, of course, another form of society.” 

The annual Red Mass at St. Mary Cathedral in Lansing is organized by the Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Lansing. Sarah, Fredric, and Matthew are all members. 

The Guild operates under the heavenly patronage of St. Thomas More (1478-1535), who is the patron saint of lawyers. 

“St. Thomas More is a good example to all Catholic lawyers of how prayer and the sacraments can sustain you in such a, potentially, morally hazardous profession,” says Matthew Clark, who has the St. Thomas More prayer on his office wall “as a reminder of the things that we need to be doing as Catholic lawyers.”  

“Not only did St. Thomas More attend daily Mass, but he had an intense prayer life and attempting to do the same in our own lives has been, for me, extremely helpful including daily meditative prayer and frequent recourse to the sacraments.”

Sarah Meinhart concurs. She has a poster of St. Thomas More — created by her son John Paul for a school project at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Ann Arbor — occupying pride of place in her office, which is situated at Domino’s Farms, also in Ann Arbor, a business park established by Catholic tycoon Tom Monaghan. The office building has its own chapel. 

“That means I can arrive at work at 7.30 a.m., respond to a couple of emails, and attend 8 a.m. Mass before delving into my day — there’s also confession offered three to four times a day as well,” says Sarah. “It's such a blessing to have those moments of prayerful peace and tranquility before getting into my day at work.”