Heritage Days 2025: a Masonic temple unveiled in Dordogne

The public will be invited to enter La Ruche des patriotes de Ribérac during immersive sessions on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 September. “A place where we discuss everything with discussion rules”

Welcome to the temple of La Ruche des patriotes de Ribérac, a Masonic lodge and member of the Grand Orient de France . This temple was inaugurated on November 19, 1893. It is listed in the supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments and is the third oldest lodge in Dordogne. For two days, on the occasion of Heritage Days, the public is invited to participate in immersive sessions, Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21. The objective: to discover how Masonic exchange is constructed, "based on reflection, kindness and respect for the words of others."

"Here, we are a somewhat atypical rural lodge in the heart of the Double. We have around forty members, about a quarter of whom are women, who are the most active [Editor's note: the lodge has been mixed since 2011]. A lodge with a great social mix where everyone can express themselves equally, whether unemployed or surgeon, regardless of their background or level of education," emphasizes Thierry, a venerable of the lodge, a farmer in his sixties. He will not give his name. "It's part of the codes and ethics; we don't have the right to say that someone is a Freemason," emphasizes Thierry.

But discretion is not the same as secrecy. "Freemasonry has been condemned several times by the Pope. In the collective unconscious, it is still stigmatized, even though it is a place where everything is discussed without censorship, with rules of discussion that deserve to be known. We are here to demystify it," adds the venerable. Thierry became a brother twenty years ago, without being co-opted. "You can come here on your own; you are chosen based on your morality and values, so that there are no political parties that advocate segregation," adds the master.

The Venerable's gavel strikes. For an hour, twice a day, the public will experience the atmosphere of an "inmate," meaning a periodic meeting of the lodge. An opportunity to discover the temple, repainted in 2022, oriented from West to East. Five-pointed stars, swords, squares, compasses, constellations, the celestial vault: symbols abound. And nothing is left to chance.

The layman will be able to understand above all how the word circulates, between the venerable, the speaker, the supervisors, the columns, the apprentices, the companions and the masters.

"Here, we reflect, we fuel up, and we conclude with a feast, or more simply, a Spanish inn," smiles the venerable man. The philanthropic and progressive institution, which works for "the search for truth, the study of morality, and the practice of solidarity," has its head in symbolic constellations, but also its feet firmly on the ground. Throughout the weekend, guided and commented tours will be offered continuously, without prerequisites, open to all.

Practical. Temple La Ruches des Patriotes, 2 rue du Palais, Ribérac. Open both days from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Immersive sessions at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., no reservation required. For more information, email [email protected].