Belgian Masonic Lodge Responds To Vandalism By Opening Its Doors To The Public

by Christopher Hodapp

Note: I spotted this story back in April on the 450.fm website (La loge "La Flandre" à Bruges Louvre set ports au public"). Unfortunately, I neglected to post it then. So forgive the tardiness. Thanks to Brother MD for the photo of the lodge room itself.

Founded in 1881, La Flandre Loge (Flanders Lodge) is the oldest Masonic lodge located in the city of Bruges in the West Flanders region of Belgium. Bruges is a city nicknamed the "Venice of the North" for its canals and medieval heritage, and many of the city's oldest streets are paved with cobblestones. While the lodge was meeting back in January, a vandal picked up one of those cobblestones from the street and hurled it through the front window of the Masonic hall. 

In response, the lodge opened its doors to the public for the first time and showed off its unique interior spaces during the city's 'Heritage Days' celebration to hopefully demonstrate to the community that Freemasonry isn't bizarre, spooky, or a threat to anyone. 

And in a public event, the Masons formally returned the cobblestone to the city. 

Built in 1910, La Flandre's temple contains a large meeting room, a bar, a dining room and the lodge room itself. Egyptomania was in full swing throughout the Western world at the time of its design, and the building is filled with Egyptian-themed artwork and architecture. It is truly a magnificent building with one of the most beautiful lodge rooms anywhere. (Photo at top of the article.)

Photos: Koen Theuns

Lodges throughout Europe don't generally welcome the community into their buildings and openly discuss the fraternity. The public outreach approach that is so widespread in the U.S. and the U.K. is extremely unusual for European Freemasonry, where anti-Masonic sentiment has been an everyday fact of life ever since the French Revolution. And after the persecution of Freemasons in the Nazi-occupied countries during World War II, in the post-war Soviet bloc, and in Franco's Spain, European Masons have been understandably reticent to reveal their membership or in any way advertise their existence to the public. Many European grand lodges have museums that are open to the public (and Belgium has several), but that's a long way away from 'Here's our lodge and here we are!'

According to an article on the 450.fm website (La loge "La Flandre" à Bruges Louvre set ports au public"), La Flandre Lodge has about 90 members. I believe that it is chartered by the Grand Orient de Belgique (Grand Orient of Belgium - GOB), the oldest obedience in the country, which is similar to the Grand Orient de France in that it does not require a belief in a Supreme Being and doesn't forbid the discussion of social and political topics in the open lodge. However, Belgium has other major obediences, such as the La Grande Loge de Belgique (Grand Lodge of Belgium - GLB), La Grand Loge Régulaire de Belgique (Regular Grand Lodge of Belgium - GLRB), and the Grand Female Lodge of Belgium (GLFB), founded in 1981. The overwhelming majority of regular, recognized, male-only Masonic grand lodges around the world are in amity with the GLRB.

Masonic Quest: Escape from the Masonic Temple!

by Christopher Hodapp

No, I don't mean ducking out to avoid cooking the monthly breakfast. Not that kind of escape. 

I'm always looking for unique ways to bring the community into our Masonic halls and get the public interested in just who and what our fraternity is all about. Sometimes you have to think outside of the usual pattern of pancake breakfasts, chili cook-offs, and other typical events that lodges have been doing for the last 100 years and get more creative. So, here are a couple of ideas:

The Grand Orient de Belgium's Belgium Museum of Freemasonry in Brussels regularly hosts “Escape From The Masonic Temple” in its magnificent, historic temple. 

"A mysterious backpack has been found in the Museum…"The Belgian Museum of Freemasonry invites you to embark on a truly immersive experience: Masonic Quest, a thrilling escape game that takes place throughout the entire museum. Each puzzle you solve will bring you one step closer to uncovering the hidden treasure.

Succeed in your mission, and you’ll be rewarded with a photo alongside the treasure, an exclusive badge, and a certificate of investigation to commemorate your adventure.

Step into Masonic Quest, the captivating escape game at the Belgian Museum of Freemasonry! Dive into a world of intrigue, where mystery, symbols, and riddles intertwine. Follow in the footsteps of a historian who once hid a treasure deep within the museum’s walls.

Work as a team, explore every corner, crack codes, and solve puzzles to discover what’s been concealed.

This is a great idea. It's a fun way to get people into your Masonic building and interest younger people who haven't the first clue about who and what we really are. We have unique spaces that most people never give a second thought to. And everybody everywhere wants to know what's behind closed doors. So, let them in, guide them around, make them feel like explorers, let them see some unique artifacts.

The event also gives them the opportunity to hold guided tours and to open up their beautiful museum.

*  *  *

Lots of lodges also do haunted tours of their buildings, like this one in San Antonio, Texas.

They managed to get a few minutes on a local TV station to promote the event.

*  *  *

Then there' a children's  'treasure hunt' this coming weekend at Mount Zion Lodge 135 in Metuchen, New Jersey:

The Freemasons of Metuchen (Mt. Zion Lodge #135),
in conjunction with Wolfe Ossa Law and What's the Scoop are sponsoring a ​Children's Treasure Hunt following the style of "National Treasure", "Indiana Jones", and "Tomb Raider".

This is a chaperoned Treasure Hunt that will challenge children to solve puzzles leading from one location in Metuchen to another. Each clue will bring the children progressively closer to the final treasure!

The Treasure Hunt will start at the Mt. Zion Lodge on Saturday, June 14th, 2025 9:30 am sharp.
** You MUST pre-register ** (we will fill up, do it now)
​Address: 483 Middlesex Ave. Metuchen, NJ 08840

Belgian TikToker Found Guilty of Inciting Attack on Masonic Hall

by Christopher Hodapp

A 23-year-old Belgian woman has been convicted for harassment, defamation and making threats against a Brussels Masonic Lodge after publishing an anti-Masonic TikTok video. According to an account in the Brussels Times, her video received 86,000 views and generated 3,462 interactions. After her post on January 24th, the windows were broken and four people broke into the Masonic hall. The allegation was that her video incited them to vandalize the building.

The unnamed woman, who posts under the screen name of 'Supergirl', circulated a video showing the Masonic hall of the Loge des Amis Philanthropes (Philanthropic Friends Lodge) in Brussels, alleging the Masons inside are the members of the Illuminati and were engaged in Satanic rituals. 

The historic temple building on Rue de Purcil is the location of the Belgium Museum of Freemasonry.

The criminal court found her guilty of threats, harassment, and defamation, and was sentenced to a probation. She is required by the court to take a guided tour of the temple to learn about Freemasonry, get a job, and to stop sharing any content on social media that could be considered a criminal offense. 

Failure to comply could land Supergirl in the slammer for four months.