By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Lex Christi, Lex Amoris 2014 recipient William VanderWyden plays the organ during the Red Mass.
MIAMI | Those in the legal profession are like members of an orchestra, each one instrumental in the justice system.
“Family lawyers, guardians of children, prosecutors, defense lawyers, estate planners, tax lawyers, real estate lawyers, labor lawyers, public servants and those tasked with regulation, all play a part,” said William VanderWyden, assistant dean for professional development at the University of Miami School of Law. VanderWyden had just received the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild 2014 Lex Christi, Lex Amoris award at a reception following the group’s annual Red Mass at Gesu Church.
VanderWyden, a devout Catholic who plays the organ at St. John Neumann Church in Kendall, served as the organist at the Red Mass, which is a tradition in the Catholic Church dating back to the 13th century. A Red Mass officially opened the term of the court for most European countries. Celebrants wore red vestments or garments signifying the fire of the Holy Spirit’s guidance to all who pursue justice.
VanderWyden earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctor from UM, where he has worked since 1987. He is a fountain of knowledge on subjects concerning the law school, including bar application and disclosure matters, bar passage, graduation requirements, joint degree programs and many other topics important to students, alumni and law school friends. He maintains an open-door policy to immediately address issues raised by students.
He is also one of the founders of the Catholic Prayer Breakfast, a once-a-month gathering aimed at helping Catholics bring Christ into their workplaces. The group has been meeting at 7 a.m. the second Tuesday of every month since 1990.
At work, VanderWyden maintains an open-door policy to immediately address issues raised by students. “I basically run a confessional where I counsel students,” he said.
He coordinates Partnership for Professionalism, a much acclaimed program that brings judges, attorneys, and law students together in informal dinner settings twice a year to promote civility, ethics and professionalism among members of the legal community.
A portrait of St. Thomas More hangs on his office wall. Many students have asked about the picture.
“I tell them he is the patron saint of lawyers,” said VanderWyden. “He was a 16th-17th century lawyer and King Henry VIII’s counselor. He was the king’s good servant, but God’s first.”
“Family lawyers, guardians of children, prosecutors, defense lawyers, estate planners, tax lawyers, real estate lawyers, labor lawyers, public servants and those tasked with regulation, all play a part,” said William VanderWyden, assistant dean for professional development at the University of Miami School of Law. VanderWyden had just received the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild 2014 Lex Christi, Lex Amoris award at a reception following the group’s annual Red Mass at Gesu Church.
VanderWyden, a devout Catholic who plays the organ at St. John Neumann Church in Kendall, served as the organist at the Red Mass, which is a tradition in the Catholic Church dating back to the 13th century. A Red Mass officially opened the term of the court for most European countries. Celebrants wore red vestments or garments signifying the fire of the Holy Spirit’s guidance to all who pursue justice.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko address legal professionals during the reception that followed the Red Mass. A painting of St. Thomas More is in the foreground. Judge Butchko is the one handing the award to Lex Christi, Lex Amoris award to William VanderWyden in the photo that appears on the archdiocese's home page.
He is also one of the founders of the Catholic Prayer Breakfast, a once-a-month gathering aimed at helping Catholics bring Christ into their workplaces. The group has been meeting at 7 a.m. the second Tuesday of every month since 1990.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
William VanderWyden holds his Lex Christi, Lex Amoris award his posing for a photo with Archbishop Thomas Wenski.
He coordinates Partnership for Professionalism, a much acclaimed program that brings judges, attorneys, and law students together in informal dinner settings twice a year to promote civility, ethics and professionalism among members of the legal community.
A portrait of St. Thomas More hangs on his office wall. Many students have asked about the picture.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Auxiliary Bishop Peter Baldacchino gives Communion to Appeals Judge Thomas Logue.
BROWARD RED MASS
The St. Thomas More Society - Broward counterpart to the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild - will celebrate its annual Red Mass Wednesday, June 4, at 5:30 p.m. at St. Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale. Click here for more information.
The St. Thomas More Society - Broward counterpart to the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild - will celebrate its annual Red Mass Wednesday, June 4, at 5:30 p.m. at St. Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale. Click here for more information.
More opposed the king’s separation from the Catholic Church and refused to accept him as the supreme head of the Church of England, because it disparaged papal authority as well as Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Because of his opposition, More became a martyr. He was convicted of treason and beheaded.
Daniela Rosette, vice president of the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild and bar counsel for the Florida Bar’s Miami office, said VanderWyden was a mentor for her. He helped her catch up after she transferred from Tulane University in New Orleans to UM following Hurricane Katrina.
“Classes had been going on for almost a month,” she said. “He introduced me to the professors and my classmates.”
In his acceptance speech, VanderWyden quoted John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address: “With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking his blessing, and his help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”
He also quoted Pope Paul VI: “If you want peace, work for justice.”
Archbishop Thomas Wenski celebrated the Red Mass along with Auxiliary Bishop Peter Baldacchino and Jesuit Father Eduardo Alvarez, Gesu’s pastor. In his homily, the archbishop called the legal profession “a noble calling — one that calls for continual courage, vigilance and a dedicated commitment to the people you serve and to our system of justice.”
The Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild is dedicated to fostering spiritual growth and fellowship among Catholic lawyers, judges, law students and others involved with the legal profession, so that competence in secular disciplines may serve to promote human dignity and the common good, to the glory of God.
Daniela Rosette, vice president of the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild and bar counsel for the Florida Bar’s Miami office, said VanderWyden was a mentor for her. He helped her catch up after she transferred from Tulane University in New Orleans to UM following Hurricane Katrina.
“Classes had been going on for almost a month,” she said. “He introduced me to the professors and my classmates.”
In his acceptance speech, VanderWyden quoted John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address: “With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking his blessing, and his help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”
He also quoted Pope Paul VI: “If you want peace, work for justice.”
Archbishop Thomas Wenski celebrated the Red Mass along with Auxiliary Bishop Peter Baldacchino and Jesuit Father Eduardo Alvarez, Gesu’s pastor. In his homily, the archbishop called the legal profession “a noble calling — one that calls for continual courage, vigilance and a dedicated commitment to the people you serve and to our system of justice.”
The Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild is dedicated to fostering spiritual growth and fellowship among Catholic lawyers, judges, law students and others involved with the legal profession, so that competence in secular disciplines may serve to promote human dignity and the common good, to the glory of God.
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