By Joanne Ward
The Diocese of Metuchen will celebrate its sixth Red Mass Oct. 9 at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, 32 Elm Avenue in Metuchen. The 10:30 a.m. liturgy will be celebrated by the Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski. Delivering the homily at the Mass will be Msgr. David I. Fulton, STD, JCD, associate professor of canon law at St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore, and pastor of Our Lady of Victories Parish, Baptistown.
In conjunction with the Red Mass, which honors all those in the judicial system and legal profession, Lisa Fittipaldi, Esq. will receive the diocesan 2011 St. Thomas More Award. It will be presented at a brunch to be held after the Mass at the Pines Manor in Edison.
The St. Thomas More Award is given annually to a member of the legal or judicial profession who exemplifies a commitment to moral conscience and an intense concern for others in the pursuit of justice.
Fittipaldi is a member of the firm DiFrancesco, Bateman, Coley, Yospin, Kunzman, Davis & Lehrer, where she pecializes in family law and employment law. She graduated, cum laude, from Dickinson College, Pa., and earned a Juris Doctor Degree from South Texas College of Law, magna cum laude. She is a member of the Texas and New Jersey Bars, the United States District Court, District of New Jersey and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
A graduate of Mount St. Mary Academy, Watchung, Fittipaldi currently is chair of the school’s Board of Trustees and serves as advisor to the academy’s mock trial team which has won two Somerset County championship titles. In 2008, Fittipaldi was inducted into the academy’s Hall of Honor which was established to recognize life achievements reflecting the Mercy core values of justice, respect, compassion, integrity and service.
Fittipaldi also served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law, South Orange, where she taught Civil Trial Practice.
At her parish, Our Lady of the Mount, Warren, Fittipaldi was a member of the Pastoral Council and founded a knitting group which benefits a pregnancy center and has helped the poor as well as veterans.
Fittipaldi is married to Anthony Digirolamo, Esq. They have two daughters, Claire and Amelia.
Previous St. Thomas More Award recipients include John J Hoagland, Esq., the Hon. David G. Lucas, John J. Hoffman, Esq., Michael Ligorano, Esq., and the Hon. Roger Daley.
Tickets for the brunch are $50 per person. For more information call (732) 562-2461 or visit www.diometuchen.org.
