Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Red Mass draws maybe 100

FatherDOR reports by email that this year's Red Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral drew approximately 100 people. This estimate matches up well with the report in the D&C that

Dozens of lawyers, judges and others attended the midday Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Flower City Park.

Normal attendance for the midday Mass at Sacred Heart is 30 to 50 people according to FatherDOR, so it sure seems that there were not very many members of the legal community present.

The Red Mass used to be celebrated at Our Lady of Victory Church, in the heart of the downtown area where most of the legal community works.  Between 200 and 300 people used to attend, according to a September 9, 2004 report in the D&C.

When Bishop Clark moved the Mass to the cathedral last year attendance dropped sharply.  Moving the Mass out of the downtown area is certainly one of the causes of this decline.  A second cause could be the reported boycott of the cathedral by some members of the legal community who are unhappy with its recent renovation.

1 comment:

RochChaCha said...

Why support a parish like Our Lady of Victory (one of the only few remaining DOR parishes that remains faithful to the sacred liturgy and celebration of Mass) when you can support a Cathedral(with a goal of being a showcase to the Rochester community of just how wasteful spending is for the DOR). I know, the organ came from two private donors and it did not cost the DOR a penny....insert sarcasm here.....and the renovations prior to the that were cheap.

So what are we to do?

* Pray to God
* Pray the Rosary
* Support OLOV and other parishes that respect the sacred Mass.
* Talk with your pastor or pastoral administrator about liturgical abuses, and finally.....keep praying.