Date set for 42nd Annual Red Mass / Law Day
Loretto, PA (05/04/2024)—Saint Francis University will host its 42nd Annual Red Mass / Law Day on Friday, April 26, on its Loretto campus. The 2024 Law Day theme will be “Voices of Democracy,” and keynote speaker Judge Mary Jane Bowes will share her experiences with the attendees.
Red Mass will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Immaculate Conception Chapel and will be followed by lunch at the John F. Kennedy Student Center.
All area judges, lawyers, law enforcement officials, friends, and area residents of all faiths are invited to participate in Red Mass / Law Day.
To register for lunch or learn more information, contact LeeAnn Weslager at 814-472-3001 or lweslager@francis.edu.
About Fr. Malachi Van Tassell, T.O.R., President, Saint Francis University
The Very Rev. Malachi Van Tassell, T.O.R., assumed the office of President at Saint Francis University on May 12, 2014, with his official inauguration on October 4, 2014.
In 2022, the University celebrated its 175th anniversary by establishing a fundraising campaign to raise $1.75 million for renovations to the Immaculate Conception Chapel, which the University exceeded by $1,000,000. The newly restored Chapel was blessed on December 8, 2022 at a Mass to celebrate the culmination of the anniversary year.
Current capital projects include the seven-million-dollar Connors Family Center for Fine Arts (home of the Resinski Black Box Theater), slated to open in October of 2023, and the eight-million-dollar Occupational Therapy building in the School of Health Sciences and Education Complex, scheduled to open in August 2023. Other recent successful capital projects include the seven-million-dollar building renovation for the Shields School of Business, four million dollars to construct the new Experiential Learning Commons for the School of Health Sciences and Education, and several athletics-related projects.
Father is a member and past chair of the Northeast Conference Council of Presidents and a member and past chair of the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities. Father previously served on the NCAA Presidential Forum.
In the first half of 2019, Father Malachi served as Minister Provincial of the Sacred Heart Province and Chairman of the Board of Franciscan University, where he led a successful presidential search.
Before his presidency, he spent twelve years at the University as an assistant professor of accounting (full-time and adjunct). He previously served as the treasurer and vicar provincial of the Franciscan Friars, Sacred Heart Province.
Fr. Malachi professed vows as a Franciscan in 1999 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2004. He has a Ph.D. in higher education leadership from Capella University, a master's degree in taxation from Arizona State University, and an undergraduate degree in accounting and Spanish from Franciscan University. A certified public accountant, he worked as a tax accountant for Coopers & Lybrand in Phoenix, Arizona, and Arthur Andersen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before becoming a Franciscan.
About Judge Mary Jane Bowes
The Honorable Mary Jane Bowes has served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for over 20 years as a judge on the Superior Court. She was first elected to the Superior Court in November 2001 and retained for two additional ten-year terms. During her tenure on the Court, Judge Bowes has stridently fought to increase the Superior Court’s transparency by advocating for online posting and increased publication of its decisions. The Supreme Court appointed her to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Juvenile Delinquency and the Appellate Courts Procedural Rules Committee. Judge Bowes is a member and past chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Appellate Advocacy Committee and is a respected lecturer throughout the Commonwealth on appellate law.
Judge Bowes has served on the boards of numerous charitable and Diocesan organizations, including her parish council. She is also past chair of the St. Thomas More Society, the St. Anthony School for Exceptional Children, and the University of Pittsburgh Law Alumni Association. In 2018, Governor Tom Corbett appointed her to the Council of Trustees of Bloomsburg University, where she served as its chair for four years.
Judge Bowes earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She served as a judicial law clerk for the Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania after graduation. Judge Bowes, after that, engaged in the general practice of law before joining the legal department of a publicly traded environmental remediation firm. While in practice, she was inducted into the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and was named one of Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business. Earlier this year, she received the PBA Clarity Award to recognize those who have done the most to foster plain English in the legal field.
She is the mother of three adult children and the grandmother of Molly and Teddy.