Grand Lodge of Panama
The Grand Lodge of Panama is recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England as the regular Masonic authority in Panama. Established on April 19, 1916, when representatives of every lodge in Panama City came together to constitute a sovereign grand lodge, it was formally recognized by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 1917, followed by UGLE. An earlier attempt to organize a grand lodge in 1913 achieved only limited inter-jurisdictional recognition and is not the predecessor of the current institution.
Panama's history as a nexus of international commerce and transit gave its lodge community a cosmopolitan character unusual for a country of its size. The Canal construction era brought Masons from the American mainland, from the West Indian communities recruited to build the Canal, and from the Panamanian professional class — a three-community membership base that shaped the grand lodge's internationalist outlook. The Grand Lodge of Panama is headquartered in Panama City, on Calle 13 in the Santa Ana neighborhood, and today serves lodges across the country. Panama City's position as a major international hub continues to give Panama Masonry a diverse, internationally connected character. The Abou Saad Shrine Temple, headquartered in Panama City, is among the active appendant bodies in the jurisdiction
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