In its simplest form, Freemasonry may be described as a group of good men who support each other, their families and the community.
It is with this foremost ideal that Philippine Honorary Consul to Victoria Felix Pintado accepted his installation as Worshipful Master of the Sunshine Wisdom Lodge No. 226 of the United Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Victoria on Saturday 15 May 2018, at the Western Masonic Centre on Callaway Blvd, West Sunshine.
Among the 200 or so in attendance were five past Grand Masters and five past Deputy Grand Masters together with a large number of past Grand Lodge Officers, and the 2018 Grand Lodge team led by the Grand Master of Freemasons in Victoria, Keith Thomas Murray.
The added surprise was the visit of the Consul’s longtime close friend Stephen Michalak, the past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Also present was Ricardo Idquival, past Junior Grand Lecturer of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Philippines, and Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines to Victoria.
The ceremony was followed by a dinner dance at St Bernadette’s Community Centre in North Sunshine. In his speech, Consul Pintado expressed his gratitude for the encouragement of his mentors and the overwhelming support of the Filipino community in Victoria. The Consul also reiterated his commitment to engage with and support the various charities serving the local community.
In his role as Master of the Sunshine Wisdom Lodge, Consul Pintado will be responsible for leading a team of dedicated individuals who aspire to live out the principal tenets of Freemasonry – brotherly love, relief and truth, and become better members of society in the process.
