A centuries-old tradition, the lawyers’ red mass, celebrated every year in Montreal since 1944 at the time of the return to court, will no longer take place. The event would no longer be favored by the legal community in a state that wants to be more and more secular.
“It is with great regret that the undersigned announce that the red mass is no longer”, announce the members of its organizing committee in a missive obtained by The duty. His end was also reported to members of the Bar of Montreal in a communication.
This Catholic mass was celebrated every year in the chapel of the Sacred Heart of the Notre-Dame basilica in Montreal, except for a short three-year hiatus in the 1960s. “In a largely practicing Catholic Quebec, the Bar of Montreal , inspired by a tradition of civil law dating back to the 13the century, established the red mass in 1944″, bearer of the decorum of the legal profession, is it written in the letter of the organizing committee.
It was part of the back-to-school activities, during which the legal community, judges and lawyers, gather before the resumption at full pace of the trials. An independent committee took over the organization of the mass in 1997.
In the letter announcing the end of the ceremony, the organizing committee notes that “for all these years, Quebec has changed”. “Civil society requires the secularism of its institutions and its constituents”, we note. He also notes the “disengagement” of the judiciary and lawyers, who no longer participate as much as before in the mass.
“Although we would like this inclusive Mass, even a more spiritual or meditative moment of reflection to begin our judicial year, our findings are unequivocal. The will of the organizing committee to maintain the tradition comes up against the reality of today’s Quebec society. »
Given this observation, and the fact that he indicated that he had been informed by the Bar of Montreal “of the complete withdrawal of its support for the committee” — until then, the Bar had advertised the event with the other back-to-school activities court and preparing the Mass booklet — the organizing committee says it had to make a difficult decision.
An event still relevant?
The Quebec government passed Bill 21 in 2019, which then became the State Secularism Act. The legislation, currently being challenged in court, notably prohibits Crown attorneys and judges from wearing religious symbols while performing their duties.
It is possible that some members of the judiciary were hesitant to go to such a mass given their obligations of religious neutrality.
One of the members of the organizing committee, Mr.e Jean Lozeau, however, specifies to the Duty that members of other religions attended the event, as well as atheist judges. An invitation card for the 2017 Red Mass also indicated: “Welcome to all, of all religious denominations. We can also read there the origin of the name of “red mass”: at the opening of the High Court of Paris, in the XIIIe century, “judges, lawyers and prosecutors wore their ceremonial gowns, the red color of which identified this celebration in the popular mind. »
At the Bar of Montreal, it is pointed out that the decision to end the mass was that of its organizing committee, which is independent. Organizing such events is not part of the mission of the organization, which is first and foremost the protection of the public, said its director general, Tamara Davis. The Bar’s support for the activity was minimal, limited to relaying information in the newsletter, she said.
The organizing committee had been invited to review its communication strategies, but ending the mass for questions of secularism was not part of the reflection or the discussions, said the director general. “The mass has been in decline for years. Not a lot of people showed up for that activity. It’s not really relevant anymore, ”she explains in an interview.
But “do we, as an organization, consider that this is the type of event that should continue to gravitate around the profession? I would say: definitely not.
For his part, M.e Lozeau regrets the end of the red mass. “It was a ceremony that I found very beautiful. I am disappointed that we are canceling a tradition as distant as the XIIe century because we can no longer display a religious character. The activity even welcomed singers and the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, recalls the lawyer. “The Mass was tied to the legal profession, and to its duties and responsibilities to society. »