EDWARDSVILLE — Bishop Thomas John Paprocki celebrated a Red Mass for those in the legal profession Nov. 19 at St. Boniface Church in Edwardsville. The Mass was for lawyers, law students, judges, legislators, city council members, and others to pray for and invoke God’s blessings upon the members of the bench, bar, legislature, law enforcement, and governmental agencies and all protectors and administrators of the law.

The new Catholic Bar Association of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, an affiliate of the national Catholic Bar Association, which was recently established in October, was a co-sponsor of the Red Mass.

The Catholic Bar Association of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is primarily for Catholic legal professionals, but students, non-lawyer spouses, and others who support the mission can also be members. The association is a community of legal professionals that educates, organizes, and inspires its members to faithfully uphold and bear witness to the Catholic faith in the study and practice of the law. The diocesan affiliate will provide spiritual and social events/activities for the members, organize speakers on legal and spiritual topics, and provide continuing legal education for their law members.

If you are interested in joining the Catholic Bar Association, email Jim Bock, Chancellor and General Council for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois at jbock@dio.org.