Legal Community to Gather for Red Mass

FALL RIVER — Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., will be principal celebrant and homilist at the 27^th annual Red Mass in the Diocese of Fall River to be celebrated on Saturday, October 4, at 4 p.m. in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River.

The Red Mass is the popular name for the Mass of the Holy Spirit offered to invoke God’s guidance and strength on those working in the areas of law and justice. Its origins go back to 13^th-century Europe, and its name is derived from the color of the vestments customarily worn by the celebrants. Today, the Mass is widely celebrated in dioceses throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Judges, attorneys, court personnel and others working in the justice system throughout Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the Islands are invited to attend.

In a tradition unique to the celebration in the Diocese of Fall River, the Red Mass will conclude with the presentation of the St. Thomas More Medallions to members of the area legal community in recognition of dedicated service.

Selected to receive the award this year are, as distinguished jurist, Judge Katherine A. Field, First Justice, Bristol County Probate and Family Court; as distinguished attorney, Stephen W. Marshalek, Chief of the Southeastern Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; as distinguished court employee, Donald J. Chausse, Jr., Chief Probation Officer, Bristol County Third District Court, New Bedford; and as distinguished recipient of the Joseph P. Harrington Founder’s Award, Judge Richard T. Moses, retired, Bristol County Superior Court.

Award recipients were nominated for the recognition by the Red Mass planning committee, headed by New Bedford attorney Michael J. Harrington.

All are welcome at the Red Mass. A reception and dinner will follow for which a ticket is required. For more information about the Red Mass and reception, please contact Red Mass Committee Chairman Attorney Michael J. Harrington at 508-994-5900 or by email harringtonpc@aol.com.

St. Thomas More Medallion Honorees

Judge Field was appointed to the bench in 2010 as an Associate Justice for the Bristol County Probate and Family Court and became First Justice of that court in 2016. Prior to her taking the bench, Judge Field practiced law for 25 years with the law firm of Gay, Gay, & Field, P.C., in Taunton.

 Judge Field served as a member of the Commission on Judicial Conduct and as its chair for two years, the Judicial Nomination Commission, the SJC Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee, and as a J2J Mentor- Judicial Peer Mentor. She has been a frequent lecturer at educational programs for attorneys at the Massachusetts Bar Association and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc., and for judges at the Flaschner Judicial Institute, and was a member of the Education Committee of the Probate and Family Court.

She earned her law degree from Boston College Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany.

Attorney Marshalek has served as the Regional Chief of the Southeastern Massachusetts Division of the Attorney General’s Office for 12 years and prior to that was an assistant attorney general for Massachusetts for 24 years.

As an attorney in private practice earlier in his career, he was a member of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, representing indigent criminal defendants in the New Bedford and Fall River District Courts. His work on that committee also involved representing individuals in child and family law matters.

Marshalek holds a law degree from the School of Law UMass Dartmouth and a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College, New York.

He is active in various fundraising efforts for ALS One and previously volunteered his time to support youth sports as a coach in the Dartmouth Youth Athletic League and as a coach and board member for the Dartmouth Girls Athletic League.

He is a lifelong resident of southeastern Massachusetts and is married to Maura (Tweedie) Marshalek. They are the parents of three children and the grandparents of two.

Chief Probation Officer Chausse began his career as a probation officer in New Bedford District Court in 1996. He was appointed Assistant Chief Probation Officer in 2006 and to his current post as Chief Probation Officer in 2014.

Under his leadership, New Bedford District Court Probation Department has strengthened its Recovery Court, launched a Mental Health Court, continued its “Changing Lives Through Literature” program, and is preparing to pilot one of only six Emerging Adult Courts in Massachusetts. His probation department is deeply engaged in the community, with a strong focus on supporting the most marginalized populations including individuals who are unhoused and those facing challenges related to substance use and mental health.

A New Bedford native, he is a graduate of the city’s schools and holds a degree from Bridgewater State University. He is married to Paula Mathieu Chausse, an attorney, and is the father of two daughters. He is a parishioner of St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown.

Judge Moses was appointed to the Bristol County Superior Court in 2002 and presided over numerous civil and criminal jury and jury-waived cases until his retirement in 2016.

He now serves as an arbitrator and mediator of civil disputes through Moses Alternative Dispute Resolution and is also of counsel to the law firm of Markey and Walsh in New Bedford.

He earned his law degree from Boston College School of Law and then began the private practice of law in New Bedford, which he continued for 32 years concentrating in civil litigation. During those years, he represented various public entities having served as Special Town Counsel for the Town of Dartmouth, counsel for the Property Conservation Department for the City of New Bedford, counsel for The Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse District and counsel for Dartmouth Fire District 3. He was for two years a Special Assistant District Attorney in Bristol County, prosecuting cases in the Superior Court.

Judge Moses was active in the community serving as a member of the Dartmouth Conservation Commission, the Dartmouth Airport Commission and as a coach of youth softball and basketball.

He is a parishioner of St Julie Billiart Parish in Dartmouth. He and his wife, Christine, reside in Dartmouth. They have three children and four grandchildren.