Freemasonry in Nicaragua
Freemasonry arrived in Nicaragua in the nineteenth century, carried by the same liberal reform currents that spread the fraternity across Central America. Documented Masonic activity in the territory predates organized grand lodge structure considerably: a lodge was recorded on the Atlantic coast in 1763, and another (Saint John Lodge, affiliated with the Grand Lodge of Scotland) operated in Greytown (San Juan del Norte) in 1851. The first lodge with fully verifiable documentation was established in Granada on October 28, 1882, founded by José Théophile Léonard, a Franco-Polish professor initiated in Spain. Nicaraguan Freemasonry expanded in the late nineteenth century, and the poet Rubén Darío — the foundational figure of Spanish-language Modernismo and one of Latin America's most celebrated writers — was initiated into Progrès No. 41 in 1908. The Grand Lodge of Nicaragua was formally established on November 27, 1907, when three lodges organized an independent grand lodge asserting their autonomy from the Central American Grand Orient. Freemasonry in Nicaragua operates in Spanish.
Note: The Grand Lodge of Nicaragua does not appear on the United Grand Lodge of England's published list of recognized grand lodges. Masons under UGLE jurisdiction should verify current recognition status with their own grand lodge before planning a lodge visit to Nicaragua.
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