Our History

The Saint Thomas More Society of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington is a collection of attorneys of various faiths committed to the examples of Saint Thomas More.  The Society’s patron was born in 1477 and educated in Oxford.  He married and had one son and three daughters. While Chancellor in the King's Court, he wrote works on the governance of the realm and in defense of the Faith.  He was beheaded on July 6, 1535, by Order of King Henry VIII, whom More had resisted in the matter of the King's divorce.  A layman, spouse, parent, learned jurist, scholar, and martyr, St. Thomas More was canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 19, 1935.

Founded in 1988 with approximately 100 members of the Delaware Bar, the Society has since grown into a thriving community. For over thirty years, the Society has served the Diocese of Wilmington and members of the local bar. The new Society first met on November 10, 1988, at St. Peter’s Cathedral Rectory. More than 25 lawyers attended the organizational meeting, during which they elected officers and adopted a logo. Thus, the St. Thomas More Society of the Diocese of Wilmington came into being.

Click here to read the original minutes from that 1988 gathering and here for the first newspaper article about the establishment of the Society.

The first year was a whirlwind of excitement and activity. The Executive Committee of the Society met regularly in its first year, usually at the Town Wharf Restaurant.  Planning the First & Second Red Mass, adopting bylaws, establishing an annual award to be presented at a special dinner  on Saturday, May 13, 1989, with many lawyers in formal attire attending 5:00 p.m. Mass at St. Peter’s Cathedral celebrated by Monsignor Taggart, then repaired to the Rodney Square Club in the heart of Wilmington for the  reception and dinner.  More than 150 guests attended, including Bishop Mulvee, Chancellor and Mrs. Seitz, and Chief Justice and Mrs. Andrew D. Christie. Guests were treated to a musical prelude by The Delaware Singers.  Professor Diana Hays from Georgetown University’s Department of Theology was the guest speaker.  Supreme Court Justice Joseph T. Walsh presented Chancellor Seitz with the first St. Thomas More Award, establishing a tradition of excellence that continues to define our annual dinners.  

As the first year ended with the Society moving toward the second Red Mass, a solid organizational foundation had been laid.  In succeeding years, the Red Mass and the St. Thomas More Award and Annual Dinner became fully established annual traditions.  In its second year, the Society developed a lecture series as its major service activity.  Still later the Society developed an annual program of continuing legal education devoted largely to ethics in law. 

We invite you to learn more about the Society's past, present, and future as well as opportunities to get involved with the Society!