Come Holy Spirit: Annual Red Mass Celebrated in Tallahassee

On the evening of January 29, Catholic Days at the Capitol came to its official conclusion with the 45th Annual Red Mass of the Holy Spirit. All eight bishops of Florida were present to concelebrate the Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Tallahassee. The Red Mass provides an annual opportunity for bishops and the lay faithful to gather in prayer with elected and appointed officials as one body in Christ. Congregants invoke the Holy Spirit, praying that those who serve in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government will be divinely inspired and guided as they carry out their work for the people of Florida.

Bishop Felipe Estévez of St. Augustine, delivered the  homily, invoking the prayer, "Come Holy Spirit, come to us." He shared that "God and only God is the author of every human life and only God should determine the end of that life, for every human life has intrinsic value from conception to natural death since every human person is made in the image and likeness of God."

 
Representative David Santiago, District 27, Deltona, (left) and Mr. Zackary Gibson, Chief Child Advocate and Director, Office of Adoption and Child Protection, Executive Office of the Governor, served as lectors.

Additional photos of the Red Mass are available to view on the FCCB website.