Watch the2026 Red Mass

If you were unable to attend the Red Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, we invite you to view the celebration online below.

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A Tradition of Faith, Justice, and Service

For more than seven centuries, the Red Mass has brought together members of the legal profession at the beginning of the judicial year to seek God’s guidance, wisdom, and strength in the pursuit and administration of justice.

The Red Mass is a centuries-old tradition with roots dating to Paris in 1245. Today, judges, attorneys, legislators, public officials, law students, and other members of the legal community gather in a spirit of reflection and shared purpose. In Los Angeles, the annual Red Mass is presented by the St. Thomas More Society of Los Angeles in honor of St. Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers and a lasting example of conscience, integrity, and service.

While rooted in the Catholic tradition, the Red Mass is ecumenical and welcoming to people of all faiths and traditions. All members of the legal community—and those who wish to join us in prayer for wisdom, justice, and ethical public service—are warmly invited to attend.

Following the Mass, guests are invited to gather for a post-Mass reception, providing an opportunity for fellowship and conversation with members of the clergy, bench, bar, and greater legal community.

The St. Thomas More Society of Los Angeles is a nonprofit organization, and the Red Mass and post-Mass reception are made possible through the generosity of our donors and supporters. Their contributions help us continue this meaningful Los Angeles tradition and bring the legal community together in a shared commitment to faith, justice, and service.

Hon. Sergio C. Tapia II – Closing Speaker
Hon. Maria Cavalluzzi – Lector
Most Reverend Matthew G. Elshoff – Principal Celebrant
Fr. Dan Lackie – Homilist
Hon. Rupert A. Byrdsong – Introduction of Closing Speaker

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44th Annual Red Mass Program

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Hon. Sergio C. Tapia II

Los Angeles County Superior Court
Closing Speaker

Hon. Sergio C. Tapia II serves as the presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the largest trial court in the nation. Appointed in 2013, he has held multiple leadership roles within the court and the Judicial Council, and he currently advises Governor Gavin Newsom through the Judicial Selection Advisory Committee. Before joining the bench, Judge Tapia worked as a public defender, an AmeriCorps attorney, and an adjunct law professor. A first‑generation college graduate and the son of Mexican immigrant parents, he has dedicated his career to public service, mentorship, and expanding access to justice.

Key Roles & Service

Former Assistant Presiding Judge and Supervising Judge of the Criminal Division
Member, Judicial Council committees and statewide advisory groups
Leadership in judicial and legal organizations, including California Latino Judges Association (President)
Longtime mentor and supporter of civic education programs
Degrees from UC Berkeley and the University of Iowa College of Law
Married to Superior Court Judge

Judge Maria Cavalluzz — **Hon. Maria Cavalluzz**i

Hon. Maria Cavalluzzi

Los Angeles County Superior Court
Lector

Judge Cavalluzzi received a BA degree in History from Loyola Marymount University in 1984, and a JD from Southwestern University School of Law in 1986.

She began her legal career as a Deputy District Attorney here in Los Angeles, eventually transferring to the Los Angeles County Public Defender office, before transitioning to private practice in 1999. In private practice she took on criminal cases as well as civil rights matters in both State and Federal Court. She was in partnership with her brother Michael Cavalluzzi – now a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge as well – until she was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court by then Governor Jerry Brown in January 2019.

Judge Cavalluzzi currently presides over cases in the Court’s Mental Health branch at the Hollywood courthouse. Her career reflects a blend of public service, private legal practice, and ultimately a Judicial appointment.

Judge Cavalluzzi married in 2001 and, along with her husband, has raised two sons to be kind and compassionate young men – her proudest achievement.

Most Reverend Matthew G. Elshoff, O.F.M., Cap., D.D., V.G.

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles
Our Lady of the Angels Pastoral Region
Principal Celebrant

Bishop Elshoff was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but grew up in the Los Angeles area,
attending St. Bede the Venerable Church and school in La Canada Flintridge. After graduating St. Francis High School, also in La Canada Flintridge, he entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order in 1973 and was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Timothy Manning in 1982.

As a Capuchin, he served as Vice Master of Novices, and was soon elected for leadership as a Definitor from 1999 to 2005 and then as local Provincial from 2008 to 2014. Within the Archdiocese, he has served as educator, campus minister, then President of St. Francis High School. He has also served as Pastor of Old Mission Santa Ines in Solvang, and most recently as Pastor in 2018 at St. Lawrence of Brindisi in Los Angeles. Archbishop Gomez appointed him as Episcopal Vicar for Our Lady of the Angels Pastoral Region on September 26, 2023, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Most Reverend Matthew G. Elshoff, O.F.M., Cap., D.D., V.G.

Fr. Dan Lackie O.F.M.

Pastor of the Mission Santa Barbara California
Homilist

Father Dan Lackie is a Franciscan Friar and currently serves as pastor of the Mission Santa Barbara California. Ordained to the priesthood at the Mission in 1994, Fr. Dan began priestly ministry in San Francisco at St. Anthony Parish, later serving as chaplain at St. Anthony Dining Room and Foundation and as Board member at St. Francis Center in Los Angeles. In a recent message to us he wrote, “To be invited to serve as preacher at the Annual Red Mass is a great honor for which I am very grateful, especially in representing my fellow friars and our shared tradition during this significant Jubilee Year.”

Hon. Rupert A. Byrdsong

Introduction of Closing Speaker

The Honorable Rupert A. Byrdsong was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court on June 18, 2014 by Governor Jerry Brown. He presently sits in Dept. 318 (formerly Dept. 28) in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles wherein he handles an unlimited jurisdiction individual court calendar with an inventory of over 1250 cases. Prior to coming to Mosk, Judge Byrdsong was the first African American to have an unlimited civil trials assignment at the Chatsworth Courthouse. He was also the first African American assigned to the Complex Civil Department wherein he handled and coordinated all the asbestos cases in Los Angeles County. Judge Byrdsong began his legal career with Ivie, McNeill, & Wyatt as a law clerk in 1994, became an associate in 1995, and became a partner in 2001.

Judge Byrdsong frequently lectures on legal issues and trial skills with notable groups such as The American Judges Association, The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, the Rutter Group, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), California Employment Lawyers’ Association (CELA), the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), and the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC). Judge Byrdsong is currently an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles where he teaches Pre-Trial Litigation Procedure and Trial Advocacy. He also serves on the faculty for the Trial Advocacy Workshop (“TAW”) at Harvard Law School. He freely shares his litigation philosophy with the following two maxims: 1) Litigation is not poker – show your cards; and 2) Try the case you have, not the one you wish you had.