Brazil Freemasonry

Brazil has the largest Masonic community in South America and one of the most complex Masonic structures anywhere in the world. More than 30 Masonic bodies — including the Grand Orient of Brazil (GOB) and numerous state-level grand orients and grand lodges — are individually recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England, each sovereign within its own state-level territory. The GOB, founded on June 17, 1822, is the oldest and historically most prominent. Freemasonry has been present in Brazil since the late eighteenth century and became directly intertwined with the country's independence, the abolitionist movement, and the proclamation of the Republic.

Freemasonry arrived in Brazil through Portuguese intellectuals and liberal reformers during the colonial period. The fraternity became deeply embedded in the political networks that produced Brazilian independence: the GOB was founded just months before the independence declaration of September 7, 1822, with José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva — the "Patriarch of Independence" and architect of Brazil's relatively peaceful transition to sovereignty — serving briefly as Grand Master. Emperor Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, became the second Grand Master in October 1822, though he suspended lodge work later that month amid factional tensions that reflected the instability of the new nation's political life.

After Pedro I's abdication in 1831, the GOB was permanently reconstituted and experienced sustained growth. Abolitionism became a central cause of Brazilian Freemasonry: the fraternity actively campaigned for the end of slavery, and lodges (including Perseverança No. 159 in Paranaguá) provided practical support to the movement that culminated in the Lei Áurea of May 13, 1888. The Republic proclaimed in November 1889 was heavily influenced by Masonic republicans.

A significant schism in 1927 led to the establishment of autonomous grand orients and grand lodges in each Brazilian state, each seeking and receiving its own UGLE recognition. Today Brazil has more than 30 UGLE-recognized Masonic bodies alongside the federal GOB — a structure unique in the Americas and requiring careful navigation by any visiting Mason.

Bilingual jurisdiction
This grand lodge conducts official business in both English and Portuguese. Content on this page is in English. A Portuguese-language version is in development.

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PHA Grand Lodge

The Grand Orient of Brazil (Grande Oriente do Brasil, GOB), founded June 17, 1822, is recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England and is the oldest Masonic body in Brazil. The GOB is headquartered in Brasília, at the Jair de Assis Ribeiro Masonic Palace, where it has operated since moving from Rio de Janeiro in 1960.

The GOB was created on June 17, 1822, by three lodges from Rio de Janeiro — the Golden Age of Commerce and Arts and the União and Tranquilidade lodges, along with Esperança of Niterói. Its founding Grand Master was José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, statesman and geologist, who had received Masonic degrees in Europe and returned to Brazil as one of the key architects of Brazilian independence. Bonifácio was followed as Grand Master just months later by Emperor Pedro I, reflecting the direct involvement of Brazil’s ruling house in early Brazilian Masonry.

UGLE extended formal recognition to the GOB on January 30, 1880, following a direct request from Admiral Silveira da Mota to Prince Edward, the future King Edward VII, during a period when UGLE was actively restructuring its international recognition relationships.

The GOB’s current structure is complex: the 1927 schism that produced the state-level grand lodges and grand orients means that today the GOB coexists with more than 30 other UGLE-recognized bodies, each exercising sovereign jurisdiction over its respective Brazilian state. A traveling Mason visiting Brazil must identify the correct state-level body for their destination — the GOB alone does not provide visiting access to lodges throughout the country. The GOB website (gob.org.br) provides national-level contact information and a directory of federal GOB lodges; state-level bodies maintain their own websites.

The GOB’s role in Brazilian independence is among the most documented cases of Masonic involvement in a national founding event in the Americas. José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva — the statesman known as the “Patriarch of Independence” and the principal architect of the political transition — was a Mason. Emperor Dom Pedro I, who proclaimed independence on September 7, 1822 — the same year the GOB was founded — was associated with the Masonic networks that supported the independence movement. The confluence of the GOB’s founding and Brazilian independence in 1822 is not coincidental: Freemasonry provided part of the institutional and intellectual framework within which the independence movement organized itself.

Brazil's size and multi-jurisdiction Masonic structure means that visiting Masons must research carefully before any lodge visit. Each Brazilian state has its own UGLE-recognized grand orient or grand lodge, and visiting Masons must identify the relevant body for the city they intend to visit. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, and other major cities all have well-established lodge communities with multiple lodges meeting weekly. The GOB website (gob.org.br) provides national-level contact information, while state-level bodies maintain their own websites and lodge directories.

Portuguese is the working language of virtually all Brazilian lodges. English-speaking Masons should plan for interpretation assistance or contact state-level grand lodges to identify English-friendly hosts. Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, given their large international communities, are the most likely cities to have lodges with English-speaking members available to assist.

The Masonic archives in Brasília and Rio de Janeiro hold significant historical collections related to Brazilian independence and the abolitionist movement. The GOB headquarters building in Brasília is a notable piece of mid-twentieth century Brazilian architecture, suspended and triangular in form, and worth a visit for its historical and architectural significance.

Rio de Janeiro (the former imperial capital and still the cultural center of Brazil) has the richest concentration of historic Masonic sites in the country, including buildings connected to the GOB's founding era and to the independence period. The Museu Histórico Nacional in Rio preserves extensive collections from the imperial period in which Masonry was most publicly prominent. Brasília, the modernist capital designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa and built from scratch in the late 1950s, is now the GOB headquarters city. The contrast between Rio's colonial and imperial heritage and Brasília's utopian modernism captures something essential about Brazil's relationship with its own history.

Ouro Preto (the baroque colonial mining city in Minas Gerais, a UNESCO World Heritage Site) was a center of the Inconfidência Mineira of 1789, Brazil's first major independence conspiracy, in which Masonic networks played a role. The Museu da Inconfidência in Ouro Preto documents this history.

The Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for Brazil is one of the most active in the Americas, with Valleys operating in virtually every major Brazilian city. The Brazilian Supreme Council operates independently of the US Northern and Southern Masonic Jurisdictions and has its own extensive history and institutional tradition. The GOB-level bodies and state-level Scottish Rite Valleys cover the country comprehensively.

York Rite bodies are active in Brazil's major cities, operating in coordination with both the GOB and the state-level grand bodies. Royal Arch Chapters, Cryptic Councils, and Knights Templar Commanderies are present in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and other centers.

Shriners International established its first South American presence in Brazil. Amal Shriners in São Paulo received the first formal temple charter in 2018 and quickly became one of the most active Shrine temples in the Americas. Hikmat Shriners in Mato Grosso followed, and Salah Shriners in Florianópolis (Santa Catarina) received its charter in July 2023 — bringing Brazil to three active Shrine temples. The Shrine's charitable mission through Shriners Children's programs has resonated strongly within Brazil's large Masonic community, and further expansion is ongoing.

The Order of the Eastern Star, DeMolay International, and Job's Daughters International are all active in Brazil in coordination with the grand lodge structure. Brazil's large and deeply institutionalized Masonic community supports a full complement of concordant organizations. The Modern Rite of Freemasonry — a uniquely Brazilian ritual tradition founded in 1914 and practiced widely within the GOB structure — is worth noting as a distinctive element of Brazilian Masonic culture.

United Grand Lodge of England — Foreign Grand Lodges — recognition status of the Grand Orient of Brazil and all state-level recognized bodies.

Grand Orient of Brazil — Official Site — founding history; current headquarters in Brasília; lodge directory.

Folha do Litoral — Anniversary of the Grand Orient of Brazil — June 17, 1822 founding narrative; José Bonifácio as first Grand Master; GOB’s role in independence and abolitionism.

Academia.edu — Protect the integrity: the regularity discourse in the international masonic relations between Brazil and England (1880–2000) — GOB-UGLE recognition history; recognition date January 30, 1880.