Grand Lodge of Cuba
The Grand Lodge of Cuba (Gran Logia de Cuba) is recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England and officially dates its founding to December 5, 1859, when the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cuba was established in Havana. A series of mergers and consolidations of competing Cuban grand lodges followed over subsequent decades. The final unification of competing Cuban Masonic bodies was achieved on August 25, 1946, creating the unified Grand Lodge that operates today.
The grand lodge is headquartered in the eleven-story Gran Templo Nacional Masónico on Avenida Salvador Allende in Havana, constructed in 1954 and topped by a stepped tower crowned by globe and square-and-compasses, making it one of the most architecturally distinctive Masonic buildings in the Americas. The grand lodge oversees approximately 316 lodges organized across Cuba’s provinces. It was expelled from the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America in 1962 following the Cuban Revolution, but UGLE has maintained its recognition throughout.
Cuba’s Masonic lodges work primarily within a Scottish Rite ceremonial framework, which differs from the York Rite tradition common in North American lodges — a practical point worth noting for visiting North American Masons. The lodges are notably public and accessible by the standards of the international Masonic community. Visiting Masons from UGLE-recognized jurisdictions should confirm current recognition status with their home grand lodge given the political complexities that have historically affected Cuban Masonic relations with North American bodies, and should contact the Grand Secretary at the Gran Templo to arrange visits, as the Grand Lodge does not maintain a public website.
Cuba’s Masonic story after the 1959 Revolution is extraordinary. Despite the socialist revolution and the suppression of many civil society organizations, Cuban Freemasonry survived and continued to operate openly — one of very few private fraternal organizations permitted to function under the Castro government. The grand lodge’s survival reflected both the fraternity’s deep roots in Cuban national identity (inseparably tied to the independence heroes whom Cubans revere) and a pragmatic accommodation between the revolutionary government and an institution with too much historical legitimacy to simply suppress.
Cuban lodges meet openly, hold public events, and maintain Masonic temples across the island. The grand lodge estimates more than 25,000 active members and over 300 lodges. Cuban Freemasonry’s public visibility — including participation in national ceremonies and the prominent display of Masonic symbols in the contexts of national heroes like José Martí and Antonio Maceo — makes Cuba one of the most remarkable active Masonic communities in the world.
Comments