Brother Bob Lovell of Santa Faz Lodge No 48 proudly presenting a donation of €200 to the Alicante Assocation for the Fight against Cancer (also known as the Pink Ladies), an organisation dedicated to promoting awareness of cancer and the importance of early detection.

The contribution was made possible through the generosity of the brethren of Santa Faz Lodge No. 48 who took part in a Grand National sweepstake and made personal donations to support this vital cause.

Throughout May, the Pink Ladies helped by organising Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests for several brethren, underscoring the importance of proactive health screenings. Early detection can be life-saving, particularly when symptoms remain unnoticed.

This initiative highlights the necessity for both brethren and their good ladies to prioritize regular health checks.

The brethren of Santa Faz 48 extend their deepest gratitude to the Pink Ladies for their unwavering support and dedication, as well as to all those who contributed to this meaningful effort.

The generosity of the brethren in Santa Faz No 48 continues to make a difference in the community.

THINK PINK AND GET A PSA TEST!

In the Province of Valencia, PSA tests for prostate cancer screening and diagnosis are available via most hospitals, clinics and doctor’s surgeries. These tests are typically performed by healthcare professionals, including urologists and other specialists, and can be part of a larger health check or requested specifically. 

Do you have a story to post to the Provincial website?

We’re always happy to publish your news on the website. Please send details to Bro. Steve Young on calendar@glpvalencia.com or prensa@glpvalencia.com.

On Saturday 24th May, the annual charity barbecue organised by the Respectable Lodge Hiram Abif No 80 was held in Benidorm, this time at the Gusto Mayna restaurant.

Now a traditional event, the barbecue was designed to support the San Gabriel soup kitchen in Alicante, an institution dedicated to assisting those most in need.

The initiative was presided over by Worshipful Brother Marco Antonio Vidal Bellón, the Worshipful Master of the Lodge, and attended by esteemed brethren, as well as family and friends.

Double click on the images to expand them

The event was marked by an atmosphere of deep fraternity and camaraderie, reflecting the longstanding traditions of Hiram Abif—a Lodge that has now proudly completed 30 years of dedicated service within both the Provincial Grand Lodge of Valencia and the Grand Lodge of Spain (GLE).

During the celebration, a significant amount of money was raised, all of which will be donated to the San Gabriel soup kitchen in support of this worthy cause.

Do you have a story to post to the Provincial website?

We’re always happy to publish your news on the website. Please send details to Bro. Steve Young on calendar@glpvalencia.com or prensa@glpvalencia.com.

En Espańol

Reunidos por una buena causa: la barbacoa anual de Hiram Abif apoya a los necesitados

El sábado 24 de mayo se celebró en Benidorm la barbacoa benéfica anual organizada por la Respetable Logia Hiram Abif Nº 80, esta vez en el restaurante Gusto Mayna.

Convertido ya en un evento tradicional, la barbacoa tuvo como objetivo apoyar el comedor San Gabriel en Alicante, una institución dedicada a asistir a quienes más lo necesitan.

La iniciativa estuvo presidida por el Hermano Venerable Marco Antonio Vidal Bellón, el Venerable Maestro de la Logia, y contó con la asistencia de distinguidos hermanos, así como de familiares y amigos.

El evento se caracterizó por un ambiente de profunda fraternidad y camaradería, reflejando las arraigadas tradiciones de Hiram Abif, una logia que celebra con orgullo 30 años de servicio dedicado tanto en la Gran Logia Provincial de Valencia como en la Gran Logia de España (GLE).

Durante la celebración se recaudó una cantidad significativa de dinero, que será donada en su totalidad al comedor San Gabriel en apoyo de esta noble causa.

Dovre Lodge No 184 has donated €1,000 to Alimentos Solidarios in Torrevieja.

Alimentos Solidarios provides daily meals or groceries to over 200 local people, all prepared by volunteers in a facility offered rent-free by the local Council. This arrangement ensures that every Euro raised directly supports those in need, and the organisation also offers laundry services for the less fortunate.

Members and visitors to Dovre Lodge have given over €2,400 in charitable donations during the past six months, including €1,400 to support flood relief efforts in Valencia and €1,000 aiding the most vulnerable people in Torrevieja.

Do you have a story to post to the Provincial website?

We’re always happy to publish your news on the website. Please send details to Bro. Steve Young on calendar@glpvalencia.com or prensa@glpvalencia.com.

Brethren are cordially invited to attend a series of Lodges of Instruction throughout the Summer months. These events have been organised by the Torrevieja Installed Masters Lodge No 108 (at Quesada) and the Marina Alta Installed Masters Lodge No 144 (at Costa Nova).

The Summer Lodges of Instruction are designed to be informative, interactive and entertaining. The objective is for participants to have the opportunity to expand their Masonic knowledge and to better understand the symbolism and practice of Masonic Ritual.

Torrevieja Installed Masters Lodge 108 at Quesada

• 19th June 2025 – The First Degree – What’s it all about? (Open to all)
• 3rd July 2025 – The Second Degree – The allegories behind the words (Open only to FCs and above)
• 17th July 2025 – The work of the Provincial Secretariat (Open to all)
• 31st July 2025 – The work of the Provincial Almoner (Open to all)
• 14th August 2025 – The Building of King Solomon’s Temple (Open to all)
• 28th August 2025 – The work of the Provincial Charity Steward (Open to all)
• 11th September 2025 – Preparing for the Chair – A Warden’s Seminar (Open to all)

All Quesada Summer LOIs start at 5.30pm. Each LOI will be followed by refreshments and an opportunity to ask questions on any Masonic subject.

Additionally, any Brother who wishes to practice ritual or a part of any Ceremony is very welcome to come along and get help and assistance from our Installed Masters. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please send a WhatsApp to +34 711 07 03 19.

Marina Alta Installed Masters Lodge 144 at Costa Nova

The Summer LOIs start on Saturday 12th July 2025, starting at 1.00pm. They then continue every Saturday at 1.00pm until 23rd August 2025. As at Quesada, the LOIs will be followed by refreshments and an opportunity to ask questions on Masonic subjects.

The Costa Nova Summer LOIs follow a well established pattern which will focus very much on the individual needs of the attendees.

Whilst the focus is firmly on practicing for Masonic Ceremonies, we have had sessions in the past which have looked at the theory and practice of the Festive Board. This included a live Festive Board with the opportunity to practice as the Master, the DC and the Wardens including doing a sample Toast and Response to the Visitors.

In addition, Brethren who are taking part in the Provincial Lodge of Instruction on November 8th are more than welcome to come along where they will be encouraged to practice the role they are delivering at the Provincial LOI.

This week, R.W. Bro. Shaun Parsons-Herrera, the Deputy Grandmaster of Spain, wrote an excellent editorial in El Oriente about the increase in Masonic membership in Spain. The article is reproduced below.

I would also like to take this opportunity to commend the dedicated efforts of the Brethren of the Province of Valencia, whose significant contributions have resulted in a notable increase in our membership. The Provincial Membership Committee has diligently implemented various strategies to attract new members, a crucial objective.

We have streamlined inquiry processes by directing them directly to lodges on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, we maintain active and engaging social media platforms, ensuring timely responses to all messages. We’ve also included contact information in all press releases to enhance accessibility.

These initiatives have yielded positive results, with a 9% membership increase this year alone. This success is largely due to everyone’s commitment to promoting our esteemed fraternity, a commendable effort we hope will continue.

Fraternally

W. Bro. Matthew James GADC, ProvGSec – Provincial Grand Secretary

Article which appeared in El Oriente – the magazine of the GLE in May 2025

Growth in Spanish Masonry

The Grand Lodge of Spain is growing, and we are all witnessing it. Our email inboxes are being filled with decrees for the reactivation of lodges, the raising of columns, and the creation of triangles—a formation that has become possible once again after the constitutional reform—in a steady, continuous stream.

In my case, as I travel throughout Spain to participate in or direct ceremonies in my capacity as Deputy Grand Master, I have firsthand evidence of this phenomenon. I am delighted to see the enthusiasm among our brethren as they begin their work under newly issued or reinstated charters.

I requested the exact figures from the Grand Secretariat to confirm this impression, and here they are: since April 2022, 15 Respectable Symbolic Lodges have been reactivated or consecrated throughout Spain. That is to say, 8% of the lodges currently active in the Grand Lodge of Spain have initiated or resumed operations over the past three years. It is particularly interesting to note an explosion of rites that had previously been less established but are now growing, some with remarkable vigour: five of these lodges are working in the Modern French Rite, one in the Rectified Scottish Rite, one in the German Rite, and one in the York Rite. There is also one new lodge operating under Emulation, while the remaining six function under the most widely established rite in Spain, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. Furthermore, 13 of these lodges operate in Spanish, one in Catalan, and one in German.

In respect of triangles, it is not possible to calculate percentages since this option was only resumed in 2024. In less than 18 months, no fewer than eight new triangles have been established across six Masonic Provinces in our Obedience, reflecting a genuine passion for regular masonry in towns and locales that previously did not have a lodge and now have the opportunity to create one. In this case, six of the triangles work under the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite and two under the York Rite, all operating in Spanish. Every time I see these figures, I remember—and honour — our Respectable Brother Andoni Fuentes de Cia, who has managed this task with an admirable spirit of service and, without a doubt, tremendous efficiency.

Does this translate into new membership in the Grand Lodge of Spain? The truth is that it does. From April 2022 until the writing of this editorial, the total number of registered members in the Grand Lodge of Spain—including those uninitiated who “see the light,” as well as the “planchas de quite” (a distinguished membership category), alongside new affiliations, regularisations, and brethren who have passed to the Eternal Orient—has increased by 11.6%.

It is, of course, legitimate to ask what the reasons for this growth are. There must undoubtedly be both internal and external factors. I would like to briefly analyze the internal ones, as they depend on us and likely reflect a strength and interest that is now being projected outward. The constitutional reform approved at the Grand Assembly in Fuengirola in January 2024 is, of course, fundamental for the triangles.

The attention given to media outlets that have approached the Grand Lodge of Spain—with whom we have always been willing to engage, provided that the approach is respectful—has been extensive, reflecting the new forms of communication. This includes interviews in newspapers and on radio, as well as in podcasts and on YouTube channels, both national and international. The increased availability of direct information from the official channels and networks of the Grand Lodge of Spain across a multitude of platforms helps create a solid and proactive image of the institution and its values.

I must also underscore the Grand Master’s commitment to linking his work with the recovery of the Memory of those masons (and families of masons) persecuted during the Franco regime—a discourse to which public opinion has proven very receptive once the details are fully known and prejudices are set aside. Parallel cultural and research initiatives, such as the comic “El Águila y el compás” (crafted by Worshipful Brother Juan Cantero of the Provincial Grand Lodge of the Balearic Islands) or the scholarly study of documents housed in what was formerly known as the Archive of Salamanca, have contributed significantly to the persistent, albeit challenging, task of restoring the name and honour of the Order in our country.

You can see that all this work does not go unnoticed: it represents an investment that, in the medium term, will help us grow, strengthen our columns, and enable us to look forward to a more secure future.

R.W. Bro. Shaun Parsons-Herrera – Deputy Grandmaster of Spain

The original article in Spanish can be accessed HERE