CHARLOTTE – The annual St. Thomas More Society Red Mass will be celebrated at 12:10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at St. Peter Church. Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey will be the main celebrant.
The Red Mass is celebrated annually in many large cities throughout the country, typically in conjunction with the opening of the new session of the U.S. Supreme Court.
St. Peter Church is located at 507 S. Tryon St. in Charlotte.
There will be a lunch and CLE immediately following the Mass at Parker Poe (401 S. Tryon St., Suite 3000, beside St. Peter) with the Honorable Robert J. Conrad Jr. giving a talk entitled “Speaking Truth to Power: Lessons for Lawyers from the lives of Thomas More and John Fisher.”
All are welcome to attend the Mass, but RSVPs are required to the lunch and CLE.
For details and to RSVP, contact Michael Hoefling at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or his assistant, Sandy Sowder, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— Will Esser
ASHEVILLE — Starting this week, St. Lawrence Basilica will undertake the first phase of a preservation project when crews will rappel down the bell towers and exterior walls of the building to document its condition.
The historic basilica in downtown Asheville was completed in 1905 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The effort is being overseen by The Basilica Preservation Fund Inc., a non-profit, tax-exempt organization (online at www.savethebasilica.org) dedicated to protecting and raising awareness about the historic structure.
Joseph Opperman Architect of Winston-Salem, a preservation expert known in the Asheville area for his work at the Biltmore Estate and the Thomas Wolfe House, will lead the overall project to determine the basilica’s preservation needs.
Vertical Access, based in Ithaca, N.Y., will assess the building’s condition.
A number of rope access technicians will use laser technology to look for leaks and other structural issues over the entire facility. They will make multiple “inspection drops” down the basilica’s bell towers and other exterior walls, using tablet computers and cameras to document their observations. An analysis of the interior walls and ceiling will be performed by drones equipped in the same manner.
After a thorough analysis of the exterior, including the copper-clad dome and the interior, the company will report its findings and preservation recommendations.
Experts will also be studying other aspects of the interior, mechanical and acoustic areas of the basilica.
This work will be the basis by which solutions can be designed and, most importantly, this magnificent historic building can be preserved and maintained for future generations.
— Jim Crumlish