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41st Annual Red Mass / Law Day set for April 28 at Saint Francis University

area judges, lawyers, law enforcement officials, friends, and area residents of all faiths are invited to participate

Loretto, PA (04/19/2023) — Saint Francis University will host its 41st Annual Red Mass / Law Day on Friday, April 28, on its Loretto campus. Bishop Mark Bartchak, J.C.D., will serve as celebrant, and Fr. Jonathan St. Andre, T.O.R., will deliver the homily. Noel J. Francisco, J.D., 47th Solicitor General of the United States, will give the keynote address at the Law Day Lunch.

Red Mass will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Immaculate Conception Chapel, 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.

Prior to the 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 for Coopers & Lybrand in Phoenix, Arizona, and Arthur Andersen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a tax accountant before becoming a Franciscan.

About Noel Francisco, J.D.

Currently serves as Partner-in-Charge for Jones Day in Washington, D.C.

Noel Francisco served as the 47th Solicitor General of the United States from 2017 to 2020. He represents clients in a broad array of civil and criminal litigation, challenges to federal and state laws and regulations, and government investigations and enforcement actions. The matters he handles often have significant public policy implications, including in the areas of global climate change, opioids, asbestos, tobacco, firearms, health care, administrative law, free speech, religious liberty, and separation of powers.

Noel has argued some of the most important cases the Supreme Court has heard in recent years. For example, he argued Trump v. Hawaii, where he successfully defended the president's orders restricting travel from countries deemed to present security risks; Janus v. AFSCME, which upheld the First Amendment rights of public employees who decline to join labor unions; Kisor v. Wilkie, which adopted his argument that the "Auer deference doctrine" should be significantly curtailed but retained in its core applications; Apple Inc. v. Pepper, which addressed whether Apple's App Store customers had standing to sue the company for antitrust violations; Knick v. Township of Scott, which held that property owners could sue state and local governments in federal court to vindicate Fifth Amendment takings claims; Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, which invalidated restrictions on the president's authority to remove the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; McDonnell v. United States, which reversed the federal bribery conviction of the governor of Virginia; NLRB v. Noel Canning, which limited the president's constitutional recess appointments power; and Zubik v. Burwell, which challenged federal insurance coverage regulations that violated Catholic organizations' religious beliefs.

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