[1] In many countries with a Protestant tradition, such as England and Wales and Australia, a similar church service is held to mark the start of the legal year, with judges customarily wearing their ceremonial regalia.

In New York City, a Red Mass was first held in 1928 at the Church of St. Andrew, near the courthouses of Foley Square, celebrated by Cardinal Patrick Joseph Hayes, who strongly advocated and buttressed the legal community's part in evangelization.

Journalist Dearbhail McDonald has described it as "a grave, necessary reminder of the awesome powers and responsibilities of all those who dispense justice, including judges, lawyers, government and gardaí."

In Scotland, a Red Mass is held annually each autumn in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh to mark the beginning of the Scottish Judicial year.

It is attended by Roman Catholic Senators of the College of Justice, sheriffs, advocates, solicitors and law students all dressed in their robes of office.

It is sponsored by the John Carroll Society and attended by some Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, the diplomatic corps, the Cabinet and other government departments and sometimes the President of the United States.

[7] A Red Mass is also celebrated at St. Joseph's Cathedral in the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire,[12] at the University of San Diego, and at the Basilica of the Assumption in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

[14] The University of Notre Dame ordinarily celebrates a Red Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart each fall semester, at which the bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend typically presides.

[citation needed] The St Thomas More Society for Catholic lawyers, founded in Sydney in 1945, holds a Red Mass annually.