St. Francis hosts Law Day luncheon
LORETTO, Pa. – St. Francis University in Loretto hosted a luncheon Friday to mark Law Day, an annual observance that celebrates the rule of law and aims to cultivate a deeper understanding of the legal system.
The luncheon was held at the university's John F. Kennedy Student Center. The keynote address was given by Marianne Corr, vice president and general counsel at the University of Notre Dame.
Corr was introduced by university President the Rev. Malachi Van Tassell, TOR, who also delivered the invocation. Judge Judith Ference Olson, of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, a 1979 St. Francis alumna, gave the welcome. Several area judges and elected officials were among about 150 attendees.
Law Day is observed May 1 each year. The 2025 Law Day theme is 'The Constitution's Promise: Out of Many, One.'
President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 established the observance 'as a day of national dedication to the principles of government under law,' according to the American Bar Association, which says it 'provides an opportunity to understand how law and the legal process protect our liberty, strive to achieve justice, and contribute to the freedoms that all Americans share.'
Previous Law Day observances have brought high-profile keynote speakers to St. Francis, including then-U.S. Sens. Joe Biden, in 1982, and Rick Santorum, in 1998; '12 Angry Men' actor E.G. Marshall in 1991; and Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel whose 'Starr Report' led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, in 2000.
The university's list of past keynote speakers also includes justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, attorneys general of Pennsylvania, federal district and appellate court judges, and other notable legal figures.
Before the luncheon, Bishop Mark Bartchak, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, presided over the Red Mass, a Catholic Mass offered annually for members of the legal profession, at the university's Immaculate Conception Chapel. Van Tassell was the concelebrant. The Most Rev. Michael Higgins, TOR, gave the homily.
Recently deceased members of the Cambria County and Blair County bar associations were remembered in the event program – John Gibson, Margaret O'Malley, R. Bruce Brumbaugh, Margaret Dallas and Judge Fred B. Miller.
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