Red mass returns

The Mass will be celebrated in St Mary’s R.C. Cathedral, Broughton Street and the principal celebrant will be the Most Reverend Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

After the mass, there will be an informal reception in the Cathedral Hall to which all members of the profession, their families and friends are warmly invited.

All members of the profession, regardless of faith, are welcome to join the procession and those who wish to take part in the procession should meet in the Cathedral House, 61 York Place at 11.30am. ‘Court attire’ is worn, though those without court gowns are welcomed and encouraged to process.

A warm invite is extended to all those who may not have previously attended the event which is a very well-established feature on the Scottish legal calendar.

Red Masses are historic events that occur in jurisdictions across the world. The earliest recorded Red Mass for the legal profession was in Paris in 1245 with London starting in 1310. In Scotland, it is an official Court of Session event which (in modern times) has been celebrated since the 1930s, when Lord Carmont and Lord Moncrieff attended.