Pope Leo XIV appoints Freemason to Vatican committee

Lifesite News ^ | Fri Aug 14, 2026 | Gaetano Masciullo

[Pontiac]

Umberto Longo, appointed to the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, appears repeatedly in Masonic records.

Pope Leo has appointed a historian who appears repeatedly in Masonic records to a Vatican historical committee.

On August 13, Pope Leo XIV appointed Umberto Longo, director of the Italian Historical Institute for the Middle Ages and professor of medieval history at Sapienza University of Rome, as a member of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.

The appointment comes despite documentary evidence connecting him to Freemasonry, including records from the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite and later appearances by Longo at events organized within the sphere of the major Masonic lodge in Italy, the Grand Orient of Italy (GOI).

On February 9, 2019, for example, Longo participated in the conference “God and People. Roman Republic. 170 years of love,” organized in Rome by the GOI and the District College of Worshipful Masters of Lazio. The surviving video provides visual evidence of Longo speaking at the event, opened by Giuseppe Bramucci, a Master Mason. In particular, Longo gave a lecture titled “The Legacy of the Roman Republic.”

The Roman Republic of 1849 was deeply influenced by the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity that spread through Europe after the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, and was founded in hatred against the Roman Pontiff. The Republic’s leaders – including Giuseppe Mazzini – were mostly Freemasons and shared with the Masonic tradition a vision of a moral and civic regeneration of humanity, grounded in reason and universal brotherhood rather than religious authority.

Although the video itself does not provide sufficient proof of Longo’s Masonic affiliation — Masonic lodges often invite to public conferences individuals sympathetic to Masonic thought who are not initiated members — it nonetheless constitutes evidence that Longo holds a distinctly favorable view of Masonic culture and ideals.

There are, however, other elements to be considered. In particular, a 2014 issue of Logos, the journal of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in Italy, contains an article written by “Fr. Oratore Umberto Longo 9°” among the officers of the Lodge of Perfection of Secret Masters “Giano” in Rome. The article regards the history, ritual, and initiatory development of the Scottish Rite.

The title “Fr.” is used in the publication as an abbreviation for “Fratello” (“Brother”), while the number indicates the Masonic degree. In particular, the number “9°” means that he attained the Ninth Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, namely that of Elect of the Nine.

This does not definitively prove that the Longo presented as a Brother Mason in Logos is the same individual who took part in the 2019 Masonic conference in Rome. Nevertheless, the coincidence of two namesakes — both from Rome and both specialists in the history of the Scottish Rite — seems highly unlikely. Moreover, the news section of the Grand Orient of Italy’s website repeatedly mentions Umberto Longo as a regular guest at their conferences.

In addition to the announcement of the 2019 Rome event, he also appears among the speakers at a 2014 conference devoted — once again — to the history of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.

And in December 2022, Longo took part in a conference on Hugo Pratt, the renowned Italian comic artist who was himself a Freemason. The conference was organized by “Fondazione Scozzese Triveneta,” a cultural institution connected to the milieu of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.

During his lecture, Longo describes with remarkable precision the stages of the Masonic initiation ritual: the chamber of reflection, the divesting of metals, the inner journey. He presents them not merely as a subject of historical study, but as a “complete representation” which he interprets using the kind of languageof someone well-versed in the Order’s symbolism.

At the end of his lecture, Longo concludes by placing himself, Hugo Pratt, Corto Maltese, and the audience within a single shared category: “Corto and Ugo know well that an initiate can only be a traveler… Pratt and Corto embody all of this, with a gentle smile, without dogmas, without claims to primacy; they are gentlemen of fortune. And, after all, so are we.”

Even more striking is that, at the conclusion of the conference, a man introduced as the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite took the floor to thank the speaker, referring to him verbatim as “Brother Professor Longo.”

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TOPICS: Religion
KEYWORDS: catholic; freemason; morepopenews

[Pontiac]

Perhaps.

This Pope and his predecessor have done many things that I wish they had not done.

[higgmeister]

2B1 Ask1

As I said, that really sounds stupid.   My dad had four sons and never said anything about it.   I am the last one alive.

[TexasKamaAina]

You’re correct. A better comparison than the Boy Scouts would be Alcoholics Anonymous.