Crimson Stride

(Hat tip: Catholic World News)

Red Mass in Rio Grande Valley of Texas includes a procession from the county courthouse to the local Catholic Church:

EDINBURG — To honor a medieval tradition, 398th state District Court Judge Aida Salinas Flores wore red shoes and a red shirt all day Thursday.

The symbolic gesture was to mark the Supreme Court’s recent opening, the beginning of the judicial year. Many Catholic churches have a Red Mass to mark the event, and while Flores’ red shoes are a tweak on tradition, she is doing her best to celebrate and follow the ritual, like priests and judges did in the past.

The Red Mass has also been traditionally identified with the opening of the Sacred Roman Rota, the supreme judicial body of the Catholic Church.

"It’s a tradition started in the 13th century in England, where the priests and the judges all wore scarlet robes," Flores said. "It’s a solemn votive Mass to invoke the Holy Spirit to descend and enlighten the court for the opening of the judicial year."

A procession, which included several judges and members of the Hidalgo County and Cameron County bar associations, marched from the county courthouse in Edinburg on Thursday to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church for a blessing from Bishop Raymundo Peña.

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