By Rosemary Peters
On Monday, the Chapel of Christ the Teacher was not full of students wearing jeans and T-shirts ready for a normal UP mass.
Instead, a gathering of men and women clad in snazzy suits and shiny shoes gathered in the Chapel specifically to pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit for those who are administrators of justice.
This special mass is an annual UP event known as Red Mass.
The tradition of the Red Mass began in medieval times and during this special mass, the priests wear red vestments. The red symbolizes the tongues of fire that rested upon Jesus' Apostles.
Historically, a Red Mass is celebrated in many archdioceses across the United States the Sunday before the Supreme Court's fall session opens. The purpose is to pray for the justices, judges and attorneys who are about to make several decisions which will shape the nation's history.
After the 5:30 p.m. celebration in the Chapel, a compilation of priests, lawyers and a smattering of both students and faculty gathered in BC Auditorium to listen to a speech presented by John Garvey.
He is the dean of Boston College Law School and the president of the Association of American Law Schools.
Garvey received his undergraduate degree from Notre Dame in 1970. Wasting no time, he then received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1974.
Upon graduation from law school he clerked for Irving R. Kaufman on the Second Circuit. He later served as Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States.
Garvey has a full resume when it comes to teaching. He has taught at Kentucky, Michigan and Notre Dame before becoming the dean at Boston College in 1999.
Garvey is the author of several college textbooks about constitutional theory and the First Amendment.
He also co-authored "Religion and the Constitution" in 2006 and "Sexuality and the U.S. Catholic Church" in 2007.
