Red Mass to be held on Oct. 16

Four awards to be presented to local community members
October 11, 2016, WORCESTER, MA -- The Saint Thomas More Society of Worcester County will honor four people from the community as part of its 59th Annual Red Mass on October 16 at 10:15 am at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 38 High Street, Worcester.  The principal celebrant will be Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, S.T.D., Bishop of Worcester and the homilist is Rev. Paul O’Connell, JCD, Associate Judicial Vicar for the Diocese.  The Mass is open to the public. The Mass is named for the color of the vestments traditionally worn by the celebrants and judges attending the King’s Bench in Westminster, England.  A private reception will follow in the Cenacle located in the lower level of the Cathedral with Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. offering a keynote address.
 
Distinguished Jurist Award is being awarded to Judge Mark E. Noonan, First Justice of the Leominster District Court.  Judge Noonan is a graduate of University of Massachusetts, Boston and Suffolk University.  He was appointed to the bench by Governor Deval Patrick in 2008 and served as Assistant District Attorney for the Middle District for three years, followed by a long and distinguished career in private practice. He has been active in Worcester County Bar affairs including leadership roles for their Advocate Program. An active member of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Worcester, he resides in Worcester with his wife Kerry and their three children.
 
The Monsignor F. Stephen Pedone Distinguished Attorney Award is being awarded to George F. Sullivan, Jr., Esq.  Atty. Sullivan is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Boston College Law School. He has devoted his career as an attorney and business man to building the family insurance agency, Sullivan, Garrity and Donnelly. He has been a strong advocate in the community, having served as a board member of the McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys, Bay State Savings Bank, St. Vincent Hospital and the Worcester Diocese Finance Committee. He is also a Knight of Malta and the past chair of the Bishop’s Fund, now called Partners in Charity. Atty. Sullivan and his wife, Marylyn, are parishioners of Holy Redeemer Parish in Chatham. He is a former parishioner of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Ann Parish in Worcester.
 
Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan Ecumenical Award is being presented to Alan S. Yoffie, Esq.  Atty. Yoffie is general counsel for the Worcester Knitting Company, Inc. Prior to coming to Worcester he was in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware focused on criminal tax matters, civil litigation and real estate law. He also was Assistant U. S. Attorney for the District of Delaware. Atty. Yoffie has been very active over the years at Temple Emanuel and Temple Emanuel Sinai, including co-chair of the building and location committee involved in the transition to the merged synagogue. He is also active with the Jewish Healthcare Center and the Worcester Jewish Community Center. Atty. Yoffie is also the author of “Sharing the Journey: The Haggadah for the Contemporary Family”, a copy of which was presented to Pope Francis by Rabbi Rick Block, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
 
Distinguished Catholic Lay Person Award is being presented to John J. Monahan of the Monahan Group of Worcester. Mr. Monahan has spent most of his career working in the criminal justice and private security related fields, providing consulting, risk management, safety training and electronic surveillance and protection. In addition to a long career in security business along with his wife, Cynthia, he has been very active in the community, most especially as president of the First Friday Club of Worcester since 1976 and Lieutenant with the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.