PROVIDENCE — Visiting from the Archdiocese of Boston in celebration of the annual Red Mass to invoke the Holy Spirit at the beginning of the new judicial year at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Auxiliary Bishop Robert P. Deeley began his homily by recalling how Rhode Island was founded on the principle of religious freedom.
He spoke of how Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts nearly 300 years ago for his belief in the principles of religious toleration, something which would later come to be seen as a right to religious freedom.
Williams would later found Providence Plantation with a strong belief in the separation of church and state.
“Be grateful for our freedom to advocate for the common good of all Americans,” Bishop Deeley said during his homily at the annual liturgy on October 9 to invoke the Holy Spirit upon the new judicial year.
Auxiliary Bishop Robert C. Evans, of the Diocese of Providence, served as the main celebrant for the annual Mass, where about 250 participants gathered Oct. 9, including members of law enforcement, the legislative branch of government, the judiciary, and those who practice law, to pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Dating back to the 13th century, the Red Mass is an historical tradition within the Catholic Church that has signified the opening of the term of the court for most European countries.
The title ascribed to the special liturgy derives from the red color of the vestments worn by the celebrants, as well as the garments worn by some government officials, lawyers and judges as they proceed into the church. Red signifies the fire of the Holy Spirit’s guidance to all who pursue justice in their daily lives.
In his homily, Bishop Deeley said that the faith born of one’s encounter with the living God liberates individuals, opening their minds to using their talents to help those around them. For those in the practice of law, there is a special obligation to utilize those gifts to assist in the betterment of the world.
“Through the eyes of faith, we come to understand the dignity of the human person,” Bishop Deeley said.
“The law is a service to the common good. We will change the world we live in as we pursue justice.”
Judge Hugo Ricci, who has served for 11 years on the bench as an associate justice of the state’s Worker’s Compensation Court, said it is important for members of the judiciary to gather together each year in celebration of the Red Mass in order to recognize the virtues of fairness imbued in St. Thomas More, the patron saint of the legal profession.
“We gather here as a community to try to display to the public the fact that we are in need of blessings and prayers, and that we come humbly here to seek those blessings and prayers” said Ricci, a member of St. Anthony Parish, North Providence, who said he also reinforces his faith as a daily communicant at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul.
For Judge Laureen D’Ambra, a member of the Board of Directors of the St. Thomas More Society, and a member of St. Augustine Parish, Providence, the Red Mass is an annual opportunity for those in the legal profession to ask for guidance and wisdom in the course of their work.
“It brings us all together as members of the judiciary and reminds us of our obligations to enforce the laws and provide justice to all,” said D’Ambra, who has served on the bench for nine years.
Judge Rafael Ovalles, who has served for eight years on the District Court bench, said that his faith helps him to be true to the principles of fairness entitled to all he encounters in the course of his work.
“Justice is the greatest command that God puts on us,” said Ovalles, a member of St. Michael Parish in South Providence. Ovalles grew up in the Dominican Republic before immigrating to Rhode Island.
The Red Mass provided strength and renewal not only for judges, but also for members of the law enforcement community.
Jamie A. Hainsworth, a former police chief who has served as a U.S. Marshall for the past year-and-a-half, said that while his faith has always played a large role in his life as a Catholic, it is also very important in his professional life.
He feels it is important for members of the legal and law enforcement communities to come together each year in the Red Mass to celebrate the role of faith in their work.
“It’s really a celebration of our judicial system and our legal system as we know it. I believe my faith gets me through every day, it helps me to treat people how I should treat them,” said Hainsworth, a parishioner at St. Mark Parish, Jamestown.
