Freemasonry in Malta

The early years of freemasonry in Malta

The Knights of St. John

Freemasonry in Malta began in 1730 when "Parfait Harmonie", the first warranted lodge, was formed under the Marseilles (France) masonic jurisdiction.

By 1741, freemasonry was established in Malta, and the Inquisition persecuted the freemasons, causing several knights to leave Malta. Most of the information about freemasonry in that period comes from the proceedings of the Inquisition.

Many knights of the Order of St. John and some of the Maltese nobility were freemasons. In 1756, the Grand Master of the Order was a freemason named E. Pinto de Fonseca. De Rohan, who was Grandmaster of the Order of St. John between 1775 and 1797, is reported also to have been a freemason, and is said to have helped the spread of freemasonry in Malta and to have been heavily censured by the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. The first Masonic lodges operated in Malta under French warrants generally obtained from Marseilles, but under the guidance of Count von Kollowrat, the Scotch Lodge of St. John of Marseilles petitioned the Grand Lodge of the Moderns in England to obtain an English warrant on the 30th June, 1788. This lodge noted in its petition that the most important members of the Order of St. John ranked amongst its membership. The lodge obtained an English warrant as the Lodge of St. John of Secrecy and Harmony. This lodge ceased to function sometime before 1813.

The French period

After the 1798 – 1800 French occupation of Malta, many French soldiers were incarcerated as prisoners of war. In 1811, they established a Masonic lodge named "Les Amis en Captivite" under a warrant from Marseilles. In that same year, the lodge was attacked by rioters, following exhortations from priests that the freemasons were responsible for the prevailing drought and disease stricken horses.

Following repatriation of the bulk of prisoners between April and August 1814, the lodge members were essentially non-French. On the 6 October 1819, the lodge obtained a warrant from United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE). The lodge was permitted to work in Italian. In 1820, the English Governor on the island, Maitland, suspended the lodge by reason of infiltration by the "carbonari", an Italian secret society which purported to subvert Italian states. It nevertheless appears on the official list of UGLE up to 1824.

Some maintain that Napoleon Bonaparte was initiated into freemasonry in Malta in 1798 in a French Regimental Lodge, most likely Army Philadelphe Lodge. Others hold the view that he was initiated in Egypt. A third view is that he was never a freemason.

The English period (1800-1964)

Early in 1815, a petition for the creation of the Lodge of St. John and St. Paul was submitted to United Grand Lodge of England. The lodge’s warrant was signed by the Grand Master, the Duke of Sussex, on the 27 November 1815. This lodge is the oldest English lodge that still meets on the island. By 1890, there were five lodges under English jurisdiction, with a total of 409 masons. English lodges in Malta were organised into a District Grand Lodge in 1849. By 1900, the number of lodges was increased to seven lodges with a total of 584 members, and by 1919 there were 1484 freemasons.

Freemasonry since independence

On 21 September 1964, Malta gained independence. Following the withdrawal of British forces from the island, and the shut down of the British base on 31 March 1979, the United Grand Lodge of England saw no justification in continuing the Malta District as most of the members had returned to the United Kingdom. As a result, all the English lodges were relocated to the UK, with the exception of two: one lodge had to hand over its warrant, and the Lodge of St. John and St. Paul No 349 (EC) still meets in Malta.

In 1984, the English District Grand Lodge of Malta, having been relocated to the UK, was dissolved. After the dissolution, UGLE appointed a "Grand Inspector for the Group of Lodges (Malta)". In 2005 a new Grand Inspector for the Group of (2) English Lodges meeting in Malta was appointed.

The Irish and Scottish Constitutions in Malta

The Irish (IC) and Scottish (SC) Constitution are known in English Freemasonry as the Sister Constitutions (sisters to the English). During the colonial period, there were two Irish warranted Lodges in Malta: the Leinster Lodge No 387 IC founded in 1851, and the Abercorn Lodge No 273 IC founded in 1899. There is one lodge in Malta under the Scottish Constitution: the Lodge of St. Andrew No 966 SC, which was founded in 1904. The IC warranted two other lodges: the Fenici Lodge No 906 IC in 1991, and Hospitalliers Lodge No 931 IC in 2004.

The Sovereign Grand Lodge of Malta (SGLoM)

Given the celebrations of 40 years of Malta independence, the 25 years of the closure of the British Base in Malta, and the anticipated admission of Malta in the European Union, the three Lodges of the Irish Constitution met on 5 September 2003 and resolved to form themselves into a Sovereign Grand Lodge. This historic move was supported by the one of the English lodges on the island, and at a special meeting held on 30 June 2004, Count Roger of Normandy Lodge No 9285 (EC) resolved to participate in the formation of a Sovereign Grand Lodge of Malta. A fourth IC lodge also agreed to participate. Following these events, the Grand Lodge of Ireland, in consultation with United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Lodge of Scotland, acceded to the petition of the five lodges. On 18 November 2004, these five lodges were instituted and consecrated by the Grand Lodge of Ireland into The Sovereign Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Malta (SGLoM).

The effect of having a Grand Lodge means that SGLoM is an absolute sovereign Masonic body in the Maltese islands having inherent power and authority to form a Constitution as its fundamental law, and subject only to the Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry to enact laws for its own government and that of its subordinate Lodges. For months, the representatives of the five founding lodges met and drafted a Book of Constitution which was adopted at the Constituting Grand Lodge Meeting on the 18 November 2004.

The first Grand Master of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of Malta is M.W. Bro. Joseph Cordina. In April 2005, a research lodge was conscrated named "Ars Discendi" (The Art of Learning). In November 2005, a new lodge is to be consecrated named "Flos Mundi" (The Flower of the World). This latter lodge is to have Maltese and Italian brethren and will have its ritual in Italian.

ee also

*Freemasonry