The Legal Community gathers once again for the Red Mass

November 9, 2021 Rob Abruzzese

The judges enter the Cathedral Basilica of St. James. Pictured from right are Hon. Lawrence Knipel, Hon. Jeffrey Sunshine, Hon. Wayne Saitta and Hon. Mark Partnow. Eagle photo by Mario Belluomo

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After missing the Red Mass last year due to COVID, the legal community finally resumed the annual tradition last Thursday.

The Red Mass is an annual event hosted by the Catholic Lawyers Guild and the Columbian Lawyers at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint James in Downtown Brooklyn. Even though it is hosted by the Catholic Lawyers in the borough’s oldest Catholic Church, it is attended by lawyers, jurists and court employees of all faiths.

This year’s ceremony took on a special importance after many bar associations have been hosting virtual events rather than in-person events over the last year and a half.

Yolanda Guadagnoli, vice president of the Catholic Lawyers Guild, and Christopher Caputo, president of the Columbian Lawyers Association. Eagle photo by Mario Belluomo

“I feel as if the mass this year was the beginning of an emergence from the darkness of the pandemic and back into the light of in-person events,” said Christopher Caputo, president of the Columbian Lawyers of Brooklyn. “The celebrant Very Rev. Patrick Keating’s homily, along with the chosen readings and musical program, were inspiring and uplifting. The Columbian Lawyers of Brooklyn are honored and proud each year to join the Catholic Lawyers Guild in helping to make the event happen.”

Hon. Sandra L. Sgroi and her husband Joseph Sgroi. Eagle photo by Mario Belluomo

The origin of the Red Mass goes back to 13th century Europe, but it was brought to the United States by Cardinal Patrick Joseph Hayes of New York in 1928.