On August 13, Leo XIV appointed Umberto Longo, Director of the Italian
Historical Institute for the Middle Ages in Rome and Professor of
Medieval History at the secular Sapienza University of Rome, as a member
of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.
The online
footprint of Umberto Longo repeatedly places that name - and, in later
cases, an identifiable Professor Longo - within the institutional
environment of Italian Freemasonry and the Ancient and Accepted Scottish
Rite. The examples span a decade.
2013 - Scottish Rite, Lazio: The Masonic publication
LOGOS identifies a certain “Fr. Oratore Umberto Longo 4°” as an officer
of the Loggia di Perfezione Maestri Segreti “Giano” in Rome.
The
publication introduces a series of texts under the heading: “Le Tavole
del Fr. Oratore Umberto Longo 4°.” The abbreviation Fr. is used
throughout for Fratello - “Brother” - while the number identifies the
Scottish Rite degree. More importantly, the issue contains the official
2013 officers of the Loggia di Perfezione Maestri Segreti “Giano”
all'Oriente di Roma. Among them appears: “Fr. Oratore Umberto Longo 4°.”
He is listed alongside the Treasurer, Secretary, Expert, Master of
Ceremonies and other officers.
2013 - Grande Oriente d'Italia: Its publication
Erasmo Notizie records an Umberto Longo among the Maestri Venerabili
attending a first-degree Masonic meeting at the Casa Massonica Romana in
Piazzale degli Archivi. It then lists the Maestri Venerabili present
and includes the name Umberto Longo. A Maestro Venerabile, or Worshipful
Master, is the presiding officer of a Craft lodge.
2014 - Scottish Rite: The trail continues with the author “Fr. Umberto Longo 9°” in the publication
LOGOS, suggesting progression from the 4th to the 9th degree. He wrote
on “The Dynamic Path of Perfection of the Scottish Knights: Tradition
and Rituality, Regeneration and Universality,” examining the history and
aims of the Scottish Rite, its initiatory rituals and traditions, and
the process of individual regeneration and spiritual development
associated with them.
2014: The website of the Grande Oriente d'Italia announced that a certain Umberto Longo would speak
at an event organized by the Lazio Regional Inspectorate on “The
dynamic path of perfection of the Scottish Knights: tradition and
rituality, regeneration and universality.”
2019
- Grande Oriente d'Italia: Prof Umberto Longo of the Sapienza
University appeared as a historian at the Rome conference Dio e Popolo.
Repubblica romana. 170 anni di amore, organized in the Grande Oriente
d'Italia environment by Lodge Dio e Popolo No. 786. The surviving video provides a visual record of the speaker.
2022 - Scottish Rite-connected Venice conference: Professor Umberto Longo of Sapienza University of Rome delivered
the principal lecture on Hugo Pratt and the “initiatory universe” of
Corto Maltese. He discussed Maltese as undertaking an initiatory journey
that intersects with alchemy, Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry,
Kabbalah, and Sufism. The conference concluded with remarks by
Gian-Paolo Barbi, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite (video).
So,
did Leo XIV appoint a Freemason? There is strong documentary evidence
that a Roman man named Umberto Longo occupied Masonic positions in
2013–2014. There is unquestionable evidence that Professor Umberto Longo
subsequently participated in events (2019, 2022) connected to major
Italian Masonic institutions.
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