Sixty-fifth annual Red Mass to be celebrated and awards given on Sunday

The St. Thomas More Society of Worcester County will honor the following individuals at its Sixty-Fifth Annual Red Mass on Sunday at 10 a.m. at St. Paul’s Cathedral. A brunch following the Mass will be held in the Cenacle Room on the lower level of the church.
The St. Thomas More Society is founded upon the personal qualities exhibited by St. Thomas More, a statesman, author, and former Chancellor of England. The Red Mass is a religious ceremony open to the public. The term “Red Mass” is named after the color of the vestments worn by the celebrants and judges attending the King’s bench in Westminster, England. In keeping with tradition, the deep red vestments are still worn each year at the Red Mass.
This year’s honorees are:

DISTINGUISHED JUDICIAL OFFICER AWARD
 
Paul E. Mullan, III was appointed first assistant clerk magistrate of the Worcester Superior Cour in 2023. Attorney Mullan has been a valued employee of the Massachusetts Trial Court for the past ten years, holding previous posts as assistant clerk magistrate and office manager in the Worcester Superior Court in addition to director of the Worcester Court Services Center. During his tenure at the Trial Court, Mr. Mullan has earned the deep respect and admiration of the bench, bar and public.
Prior to his service to the Massachusetts Trial Court, Attorney Mullan had a long and distinguished career in private practice, where his work concentrated primarily in the area of personal injury. He has also been active in civic affairs, previously serving as a member of the Worcester License Commission and member of the Board of Directors of the Worcester Public Library. A long time, active member of the Worcester County Bar Association, Attorney Mullan was honored by that organization in 2005 with its President’s Award.
A 1977 graduate of St. John’s High School, Attorney Mullen received the Xaverian Award at graduation, an honor bestowed on the graduate who best embodies the mission and values of the Xaverian Brothers. Thereafter he began six years of novitiate studies with the Congregation Brothers of St. Francis Xavier in preparation for a life as a Xaverian brother. He voluntarily left the order in 1983 but has remained close to many Xaverian brothers throughout his life, particularly those assigned to St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury and St. John’s Preparatory High School in Danvers. Attorney Mullan is a regular communicant at St. Joseph’s Abby, where he is active in spiritual life and regularly attends Mass with members of that cloistered community.
Attorney Mullan is a graduate of Merrimack College, where he earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy and Western New England School of Law. He and his wife, Kathleen reside in Worcester and are the parents of two adult children, Luke and Claire.
    
MSGR. F. STEPHEN PEDONE DISTINGUISHED ATTORNEY AWARD

Attorney John P. Donohue of Clinton is a partner in the Worcester law firm of Fuller, Rosenberg, Palmer & Beliveau. A graduate of Clinton High School, the College of the Holy Cross and Suffolk University School of Law, he has been a member of the Massachusetts bar since 1994. His practice focuses primarily in the areas of insurance defense and contract litigation. He is admitted to practice in the United States District Court (Massachusetts) and the United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.
Attorney Donohue has served as lead counsel in more than 150 jury trials in state and federal courts. He has also litigated extensively in the appellate courts of Massachusetts, including numerous reported decisions.
Attorney Donohue is an active member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Worcester County Bar Association and the Clinton Area Bar Association. He has served on numerous continuing education panels focused on insurance litigation and civil trial practice. He is also very active in his faith community, St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish in Clinton. Attorney Donohue is currently a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and an active member of the First Friday Club and the Holy Cross Club of Greater Worcester.
John and his wife, Paula, reside in Clinton and are the parents of two adult children, Robert and Brigit.


BISHOP BERNARD J. FLANAGAN ECUMENICAL AWARD

Attorney Rhonda L. Bachrach is graduate of Oxford High School and a cum laude graduate of both the University of Phoenix and Massachusetts School of Law School. A member of the bar since 2007, she is a partner at Bachrach & Bachrach, P.C., where she practices with her husband, Attorney Barry Bachrach. Her practice focuses primarily in the area of domestic relations and landlord-tenant law.
Attorney Bachrach is an active member of the Worcester County Bar Association and serves as a volunteer conciliator for the Worcester Probate and Family Court and the Better Business Bureau. In 2019, she received the Supreme Judicial Court’s John Adams Pro Publico Award for her extraordinary commitment to providing pro bono services to individuals of limited means. Attorney Bachrach was also recognized as a “Super Lawyers Rising Star” in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Attorney Bachrach is a long time, active member of Faith Church, a Baptist congregation in Auburn, where she serves as a communion minister and has spearheaded some of the congregation’s charitable efforts. An area of particular focus for her has been to partner with “508 Forever Young”, a local 501(c)(3) organization to throw a Christmas party each year for underserved children. During the COVID-19 pandemic when the Christmas gathering could not be held, she personally delivered Christmas presents to children who would have otherwise gone without over the holidays.
She and her husband reside in Leicester.

CATHOLIC LAYPERSON AWARD

Timothy J. Connolly was born and raised in Pittsfield,and graduated from St. Joseph’s High School where he excelled academically and athletically. He was a standout member of St. Joseph’s basketball team and tallied more than 1,000 career points. Mr. Connolly’s academic and athletic prowess brought him to Worcester via a scholarship to Assumption College where he earned bachelor and master degrees in English.
Thereafter, he embarked on an illustrious career in journalism, eventually landing a job at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. For 21 years Mr. Connolly covered World Series games, political campaigns and the State House beat, while also penning a long running political column. In 2000, Mr. Connolly left the newspaper and began a career in public relations, working initially with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and then with the Office of District Attorney Joseph D. Early.
In his 14 years in the District Attorney’s office, Mr. Connolly served as the chief liaison between that office and the press. During countless high-profile prosecutions, Mr. Connolly worked skillfully providing the public with important information while also dealing with victims and their families with remarkable compassion and sensitivity. He also worked for many years as an adjunct faculty member at Assumption University and Clark University teaching journalism courses.
Mr. Connolly died in 2022 after a heroic three-year battle with ALS. Despite the terminal nature of the illness, he and his wife, Donna, lived life to the fullest even in his final stanza of life, buoyed by family, friends and his strong Catholic faith.