Medical students at UC Davis with professor Dr. Art de Lorimier between students, far left is SF Guild CMA president Dr. Steve McCurdy. With Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordilone at White Mass reception. (Photo by Dennis Callahan)

Tradition of White Mass celebrates, supports Catholic medical professionals

By Valerie Schmalz

A few years ago, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone made a request: create a White Mass for medical professionals as an annual tradition.

The White Mass had come and gone at various times in the history of the Archdiocese of San Francisco but was not a fixed tradition.

However, beginning in 2019, the White Mass and Blessing of Catholic Medical Professionals joined the Blue Mass, also known as the Police-Fire-Sheriff Mass, and the Red Mass for the Legal Profession as annual celebrations. This year, the White Mass at Mater Dolorosa Parish, South San Francisco, will be celebrated by Archbishop Cordileone at 6 p.m., Oct. 18. A reception will follow.

The Archbishop recognized the challenge and call of medical professionals in his homily at last year’s White Mass. Medical professionals are blessed with “this holy call as a Catholic health care worker healing mind and body with the selfless love of the Mother of God, with the compassion revealed by her Son on the cross,” he said.

For the Catholic Medical Association San Francisco Guild, the White Mass is an opportunity to showcase a professional organization that supports people of faith, said Dr. Stephen McCurdy, president of the San Francisco Guild.

“My vision is that it should be a forum for Catholic medical professionals where we can come together for spiritual purposes, for education, for fellowship and basically support one another in our walks,” said McCurdy, a retired UC Davis medical school professor. The CMA guild was instituted several decades ago and then fell away but was recently reinstituted. It draws local medical professionals and supports those studying medicine in various careers.

“We need to support each other as we offer life-affirming care for our patients and provide hope in a time when many medical institutions have embraced anti-life, anti-Christian practices including abortion, transgender surgeries, and euthanasia,” said Dolores Meehan, executive director of Bella Primary Care. “The White Mass is a wonderful time of community, and we feel honored that Archbishop Cordileone celebrates the Mass for us.”

The White Mass is the traditional name given for the Mass for medical professionals, drawn from the white coats that physicians still wear and the white uniforms worn by nurses in times past. The Mass is celebrated on or near the Oct. 18 feast day of St. Luke, patron of the medical profession. St. Luke was an educated Greek physician, author of the Gospel of St. Luke and a companion of the Apostle Paul who remained with him when he was imprisoned in Rome.

The White Mass is sponsored by the San Francisco Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, Bella Primary Care, and the Order of Malta Clinic of Northern California. The event is organized by the Archdiocese of San Francisco Office of Human Life & Dignity. 

Valerie Schmalz is the director of the Archdiocesan Office of Human Life & Dignity.