LEWISTON – The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on Friday will celebrate its first-ever Red Mass, a 700-year-old tradition that marks the start of the judicial year.
Bishop John Malone will preside over the service, which will specifically honor Maine’s Franco-American judges and lawyers.
Traditionally, the Mass has been celebrated at Portland’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
However, a committee of 57 Maine lawyers and judges decided to move this year’s service to Lewiston to acknowledge the city’s Franco-American heritage, according to a prepared statement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.
In 1881, F.X. Belleau became the first Franco-American admitted to the Maine bar. In 1935, a Franco was named to the Superior Court. In 1954, the first Franco was named to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
During Friday’s event, special prayers will said, aimed at guiding the administration of justice.
The Mass is one of three special services held each year by the diocese.
In February, Catholics celebrate a White Mass to honor the medical profession. On Sept. 11, the church also held its first Blue Mass, in honor of emergency and public safety workers.
The Red Mass was first celebrated in Paris, where the color was adopted to resemble the red robes judges and lawyers wore at the time.
During Friday’s Mass, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and open to all, Bishop Malone and others will be wearing red robes, said Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the statewide diocese.
Following Friday’s Mass, a reservation-only luncheon is scheduled at the Ramada Inn at 12:30 p.m. with guest speaker Christian Potholm, a professor of government at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.
The price for the luncheon is $30. To make a reservation, people may call 784-3200, extension 355.
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