Archbishop celebrates annual Red Mass for Miami-Dade legal community

By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | United States District Court Judge Rodolfo Ruiz II stood at the lectern in Gesu Church in downtown Miami and introduced this year’s recipient of the Lex Christi, Lex Amoris Award (Law of Christ, Law of Love) to U.S. District Chief Judge Cecilia Altonaga for exemplifying the Catholic faith in her professional and personal life.

“Judge Altonaga has always answered the call as a creator of confidence in our system of laws, and her strength in doing so comes from a deep understanding and appreciation for the universal truth that God is at work in all of us and will always point us in the direction of wisdom, compassion and judgment,” said Ruiz during the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild’s annual Red Mass of the Holy Spirit celebrated Nov. 05, 2025, at Gesu Church.

The Mass is meant to invoke God’s blessing on the members of the bench, bar, legislature, law enforcement, governmental agencies and administrators of the law.

Judge Altonaga became chief judge in 2021, holding the distinction of being the first female chief judge in the U.S. Southern District of Florida in its 175-year history. She also holds the distinction of being the first Cuban American woman appointed as a federal judge in 2003. In 2005, her name was mentioned as a potential candidate for the Supreme Court under President George W. Bush.

“Judge Altonaga has played an instrumental role in our community as a jurist for decades,” Ruiz said. “She has always been guided by a deep-rooted commitment to the Catholic faith. She is a role model in our district, a district that has undergone much change in the past decade,” he added.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Altonaga received her First Holy Communion in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the remaining sacraments in Miami. Her father was a lawyer in Cuba, but he was unable to practice law for the first 10 years in the U.S. He was admitted to practice law in Florida when Altonaga was a teenager, and she often assisted at his law office. That early experience led her to pursue a career in law.

“Judge Altonaga is known for mentoring new judges on the court, offering invaluable insight,” Ruiz said. “She even takes the time to sit with newly minted colleagues to help them successfully assume their new duties and responsibilities. I was one of those new judges who benefited greatly from her counsel.”

Ruiz added that Altonaga is not only a dedicated chief judge but also a wife, mother and grandmother who looks at her family as God’s gift and, through her faith-filled life, remains balanced in all her roles.

“My immigrant parents didn’t have much in material wealth and what little they had, they used to send me and my two sisters to Catholic school,” Altonaga said.

“My husband and I have also formed our three daughters in the Catholic faith. I consider the Lex Christi, Lex Amoris award the highest recognition that a Catholic lawyer and judge can receive,” she said.

Altonaga earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida International University in 1983 and a Juris Doctor from Yale University in 1986. She worked for the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office and served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She was appointed to the County Court in 1996, the Circuit Court in 1999, and the Federal Court in 2003.

“This award recognizes dedication to fostering spiritual growth and fellowship among Catholic lawyers, judges and others,” Altonaga said. “It’s a commitment to high ethical standards in the practice of law, thoughtful attentiveness to justice, mercy and faith.”

As she accepted the annual award, she said that separation of Church and state is a deeply rooted constitutional guarantee.

“As we join together in prayer for our country’s legal community, we don’t run afoul of our Constitution’s establishment clause, we rightly invoke God’s guidance and blessings on our work,” Altonaga said.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski said in his homily that justice is often taken to be something cold and calculating. “Justice is first and foremost a virtue,” he said. “Being a just person means to be a person who turns outward to other people, seeing them as God sees them, with perfect and unwavering charity,” said the archbishop.

St. Thomas University College of Law sponsored the event. Students and staff attended the Mass.

The Red Mass is a historic tradition within the Catholic Church dating back to the 13th century, when it officially opened the court term for most European countries. Celebrants, government officials, lawyers and judges would proceed into a church clothed in red vestments or garments signifying the fire of the Holy Spirit’s guidance to all who pursue justice in their daily lives.

This important tradition was introduced in the U.S. in 1928 at St. Andrew Church in New York City. Cardinal Patrick Hayes, the celebrant, strongly encouraged and supported the involvement of the legal community in spreading the Word of God.