Annual Red Mass to Honor four individuals

October 19, 2017, WORCESTER, MA – The St. Thomas More Society of Worcester County will honor four people from the community as part of its sixtieth annual Red Mass on October 29 at 10:15 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 19 Chatham Street, Worcester.  The Mass is open to the public.  The awardees are: Chief Justice Timothy F. Sullivan, attorneys Patricia Finnegan Gates and Jeffrey P. Greenberg, and Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent.
            The Red Mass references the color of the vestments traditionally worn by the celebrants and Judges attending the King’s Bench in Westminster, England.  A private reception will follow in the Cenacle located in the lower level of the Church.
            Distinguished Jurist Award.  The Distinguished Jurist Award is being awarded to Chief Justice Timothy F. Sullivan, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Housing Court.  Judge Sullivan is a graduate of Merrimack College in North Andover and earned his law degree at the New England School of Law in Boston.  He was appointed to the Bench by Governor Mitt Romney in 2004 and initially served as an Associate Justice in the Worcester Housing Court.  In 2013 he was named First Justice of the Northeast Housing Court by then-Chief Justice Steven Pierce and served in that capacity until October 2016 when the Trial Court Chief Justice, Paula Carey, named him to his current position as Housing Court Chief.  When he was a practicing attorney he was engaged in the general practice of law with a focus on land use, estate administration and real estate matters.  He served as a volunteer conciliator with the Essex County Bar Association and presently serves on the Trial Court Security Committee along with the Committee on Personal Standards and the Diversity Committee.
            The Monsignor F. Stephen Pedone, Distinguished Attorney Award is being presented to Attorney Patricia Finnegan Gates.  Attorney Gates graduated from The College of the Holy Cross and Suffolk University Law School.  She has devoted her career to providing counsel on diverse real estate matters from simple real estate transactions to complex land use and development issues.  Attorney Gates frequently appears before permit granting boards and commissions on behalf of her clients.  She is a partner at the law firm of Mountain, Dearborn & Whiting which she joined in 2003.
            Patty and her husband Gerry Gates were asked a number of years ago by Bishop Reilly to chair the Bishop’s Fund Appeal, now called Partners in Charity.  Patty has been active with the Worcester County Bar Association’s Executive Committee and a longstanding member of the Judicial Nominating Committee.  She has been active in the Town of Princeton serving as a member of the Advisory Board for the Finance Committee and has coached a number of teens in Town.  She has also served on the Town’s Master Plan Implementation Committee. 
            Atty. Gates has been an active parishioner at Prince of Peace in Princeton serving as a lector.
            The Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan Ecumenical Award is being presented to Jeffrey P. Greenberg.  Attorney Greenberg is a partner in the law firm of Seder & Chandler LLC.  He is a graduate of Brandeis University and Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, New York.  Attorney Greenberg’s practice is focused on civil litigation primarily in Massachusetts State Courts.  His practice includes civil trials and appeals.  His practice is varied including family law matters, commercial and business disputes, probate and guardianship matters, estate litigation, and representation of attorneys in disciplinary matters before the Board of Bar Overseers. 
            Atty. Greenberg has also been active in the community.  He has served on numerous organizations including the Worcester Area Chamber of Commerce, First Beacon Business Advisors, LLC, the Ted Williams Little League, the Worcester Jewish Community Center, and his synagogue Temple Emanuel Sinai.  He served on the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts on the Board of Directors.
            The Distinguished Catholic Layperson Award is being presented to Steven M. Sargent, Chief of the Worcester Police Department.  Chief Sargent is a graduate of Western New England College, the FBI National Academy, and holds a Master’s Degree from Curry College.  He comes from a family of police officers.  His father, Lieutenant Richard Sargent, served on the Worcester Police Department for thirty-six years retiring in 2004.  His son, Steven T. Sargent, has been a patrolman for the past three and a half years.
            Chief Sargent joined the department in 1986 after serving as a member of the military police in the U.S. Army.  He progressed steadily through the ranks and was promoted to Sergeant in 1995, Lieutenant in 1999, Captain in 2004, and Deputy Chief also in 2004.  In May 2016, he became the Chief of the Worcester Police Department.  Chief Sargent now oversees a 500 plus employee department including approximately 400 officers.  Chief Sargent has been instrumental in major crime fighting initiatives including the Foot Patrol Department, the Gang and Vise Units and the Detective Bureau.  He has an unwavering commitment to the community.  He has been instrumental with youth basketball, baseball and boxing leagues.
            Chief Sargent is a lifelong resident of Worcester and a regular communicant at his Parish, St. George’s, in Worcester.
 
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