An American version of an age-old English tradition will take place at DePaul University Sept. 10 when best-selling author the Rev. Andrew Greeley delivers the homily at the College of Law Red Mass. Students and faculty celebrate the start of the school year and the study of law at the annual event.

The Red Mass is a custom that originated in the Middle Ages in England and marks the opening of the law courts. The Catholic ritual, which honors St. Thomas More, the patron saint of the legal profession, brings together public servants from many religious backgrounds to pray for divine guidance, wisdom and integrity for the proper representation of clients and administration of justice while serving the courts in public office. The Mass will be held at noon in the Lewis Center Chapel, 25 E. Jackson Blvd.

"This is a cerimonial beginning of the academic year for College of Law students," said Dean Teree E. Foster. "It is steeped in tradition and will provide a focus on justice for students who participate."

Greeley is a Chicago native who has authored hundreds of scholarly articles and books on a variety of issues in sociology, education and religion. He writes a regular column on political, church and social issues for the New York Times Religious News Service.

A scion of Chicago’s Irish Catholic middle class, Greeley is probably most renowned for his best-selling novels that explore the issues of sin, grace, sex and redemption. He is nationally recognized as one of the best-selling priest/novelists in the history of the Catholic Church. His works include such titles as "The Cardinal Sins," "Thy Brother’s Wife" and an autobiography, "Confessions of a Parish Priest."

Greeley is a professor of social sciences at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona, as well as a research associate at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. His current sociological research focuses on current issues facing the Catholic Church including celibacy of priests, ordination of women, religious imagination and sexual behavior of Catholics.

Founded in 1912, the DePaul College of Law has approximately 800 full-time and 350 part-time students. Graduate degrees are offered in taxation and health law. The College of Law is also the home of the Center for Church/State Studies, the Health Law Institute, the International Human Rights Law Institute and the Center for Law and Science.

College of Law graduates have a tradition of public and professional service, and they can be found working in all areas of the legal field from judges and lawyers in private practice to members of public interest groups and prosecutors and defenders.