It Was a Masonic Temple; Now the Church Is “Baptizing” It and Converting It into a Catholic Space, Thanks to Saint Joseph
The College of St. Joseph the Worker will convert a former Masonic lodge in Steubenville, Ohio into a Catholic “athenaeum” that will host concerts and lectures. The historic building, used as a Masonic lodge for nearly a century, will be handed over to the college in November 2026 and opened to the whole community. The new space, seating 500, is intended to blend spiritual and intellectual life, offering a gathering place for residents and students.
about 1 month ago
The historic Masonic temple in Steubenville, Ohio, is being transferred to the College of St. Joseph the Worker and will be consecrated, renovated, and repurposed as a Catholic “athenaeum” that will serve both liturgical and cultural functions for the wider community. 1
For nearly a century the structure operated as the local Masonic lodge, hosting meetings that the Church views as contrary to its teachings. The temple includes an auditorium that seats 500, a shrine, and a restaurant. 1
College President Jacob Imam initiated a prayer campaign invoking Saint Joseph, after which the owners expressed interest in selling. The agreement calls for purchase in January 2027, with roughly one million dollars already raised for acquisition and renovation. The building will be “baptized” and even subjected to an exorcism before being rededicated. 1
The renovated space will become an athenaeum—a venue that celebrates the best of classical culture—hosting concerts, lectures, and other events. A Catholic shrine will be erected on the site, featuring a replica of the Shroud of Turin, and the project’s motto is to “Claim the Temple for Christ.” 1
The college intends to open the facility to the entire Steubenville community, aiming to foster healing and unity in a city that “needs to come together.” The transformation is presented as a way to revitalize the area while providing a spiritual and intellectual hub. 1*
Investigate Catholic conversion of former Masonic temples
The Catholic conversion of a former Masonic temple into a Catholic facility is not, in itself, a contradiction of Catholic teaching. The Church distinguishes between:
The central question is therefore not whether the building once had a Masonic use, but whether its present ownership, symbolism, furnishings, and activities are ordered to Catholic worship, education, charity, and evangelization.
The Church’s opposition to Freemasonry is doctrinal, not merely historical or political. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated in 1983 that the Church’s negative position “remains unaltered” because Masonic principles are irreconcilable with Catholic doctrine. Consequently, joining Masonic associations remains prohibited, and Catholics formally enrolled in them may not receive Holy Communion while persisting in that condition.
The 1985 clarification explained that the issue concerns the underlying principles of Freemasonry rather than the attitude of any individual lodge toward the Church. Even where a lodge claims to be benevolent, religiously tolerant, or friendly toward Christianity, the Congregation maintained that the fundamental principles of Freemasonry remain incompatible with the Catholic faith.
The incompatibility principally concerns Freemasonry’s religious and philosophical framework. The 1985 document describes the problem as involving ideas associated with rationalistic naturalism and a conception of religion reduced to a lowest common denominator acceptable to people of different or no religious convictions. Such an approach conflicts with the Catholic confession that God has revealed the fullness of truth in Jesus Christ and that the Church is not merely one interchangeable expression of a generic religion.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed this position in 2023. It stated that active membership in Freemasonry is forbidden because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry, and it called for catechesis explaining this incompatibility to the faithful.
The Church’s prohibition concerns membership and adherence to Masonic principles. It does not establish that every object, parcel of land, or building previously connected with Freemasonry is permanently unusable.
This distinction is important. A former lodge may be:
The conversion does not mean that the Catholic institution is incorporating Freemasonry into Catholicism. Rather, it can represent the opposite: a building formerly associated with a system opposed to Catholic doctrine is being removed from that use and placed under the lordship of Christ.
The older Catholic principle of dedication is directly relevant here. A dedication is the setting apart of a place for a special sacred purpose. Catholic tradition recognizes that a specific place may be reserved for worship even though God is present everywhere.
Thus, the Church can treat a building according to its present ecclesial purpose, not simply its previous history. The key is a genuine change of ownership, use, symbolism, and institutional identity.
A converted former lodge need not necessarily become a parish church. It could serve as:
The Church’s liturgical tradition understands a church building as the place where the ecclesial assembly gathers for the celebration of the divine mysteries. Once a building is regularly established as a place of worship, the community ordinarily reserves it exclusively for worship through the rite of dedication.
If the building is to become a church or chapel, the competent diocesan authority must determine the appropriate canonical and liturgical procedure. The modern rite of dedication is adaptable to the condition of the building: certain elements may be omitted or modified when an existing structure is being dedicated and its architecture has not been substantially altered, while other arrangements may be made when an old building has been extensively renovated.
The older description of church consecration also illustrates the theological logic of the process: the bishop’s blessing, the use of holy water, the altar, the placing of relics where prescribed, and the liturgical rites all express that the building has been set apart for God’s worship.
A serious Catholic conversion should not leave the building’s former Masonic identity ambiguous. The responsible authority should ordinarily examine:
The sources supplied do not provide a specific universal procedure for every former Masonic building, nor do they determine whether every historical symbol must be removed in every circumstance. They do, however, support the underlying principle that Catholic worship and formation require clarity about the building’s present identity and purpose. Catholic churches have theological and liturgical significance and are generally reserved for Catholic worship.
Accordingly, retaining an architectural feature merely as historical decoration might be morally and pastorally different from preserving it as a functioning Masonic symbol or presenting it as compatible with Catholic belief. The distinction should be judged by the diocesan bishop or competent Catholic authority, taking into account scandal, confusion, historical value, and the building’s actual use.
In Catholic moral theology, scandal means behavior that leads others into error or sin. A Catholic institution should therefore avoid suggesting that Freemasonry and Catholicism are doctrinally interchangeable. The DDF specifically warned that active Masonic membership is incompatible with Catholic doctrine, regardless of claims that the two affiliations can peacefully coexist.
News reports may describe the conversion as “baptizing” a former Masonic temple. This can be a vivid pastoral metaphor, but it should not be understood literally.
A building is not baptized. Persons are baptized. A building may instead be:
The metaphor can express the movement from a former use to a new Christian mission, but the Church should use precise language when explaining the liturgical act. Dedication signifies the permanent or stable setting apart of a place for divine worship; a blessing invokes God’s favor upon a person, object, or place without necessarily giving it the same status as a consecrated church.
If the facility is chiefly an athenaeum, lecture hall, or cultural center rather than a church, it may not require the full rite of dedication as a church. The appropriate form depends on its actual function and on the bishop’s judgment. The supplied liturgical sources establish the importance of dedication but do not provide enough detail to determine the exact rite for a particular property.
The conversion can have a legitimate evangelizing significance, provided it is not treated as publicity alone.
A Catholic institution may use the building to proclaim that:
A Catholic cultural center located in a former lodge could therefore become a place for concerts, lectures, philosophical discussion, theological formation, and charitable activity. Such uses fit the Church’s broader recognition that buildings may serve religious, cultural, educational, or charitable purposes when responsibly managed. The Pontifical Council for Culture, discussing the reuse of former churches, preferred cultural and social uses such as conference halls, libraries, archives, meeting places, charity centers, clinics, and food banks. Although that document addresses former Catholic churches rather than former Masonic buildings, its principles concerning purposeful, non-commercial, socially beneficial reuse are relevant by analogy.
The analogy has limits: a former Masonic lodge has not been a Catholic sacred building, so the canonical issues are different. Nevertheless, the source supports the general Catholic preference for reuse that serves culture, charity, and the common good rather than merely commercial profit.
The greatest danger would be presenting the project as proof that Catholicism and Freemasonry are now compatible. That conclusion would contradict the 1983 declaration and the 2023 DDF response.
The building does not need to be treated as spiritually contaminated in a magical sense. Catholic blessing and dedication are acts of worship and ecclesial designation, not occult cleansing rituals. The relevant issue is the building’s former use, symbolism, and present purpose—not an automatic spiritual force attached to its walls.
Historical preservation may be legitimate, but symbols that continue to function devotionally or ideologically as Masonic symbols could undermine the Catholic institution’s identity. A prudent evaluation should distinguish museum-like preservation from active or commemorative promotion.
Acquiring a historic building may impose substantial costs. A Catholic institution should assess whether the purchase advances its apostolic mission, serves the faithful, and avoids diverting resources from essential charitable and pastoral responsibilities. The sources do not offer a specific financial test for former Masonic properties, so this judgment belongs to the competent Catholic authorities and the institution’s governing bodies.
The Catholic conversion of a former Masonic temple is permissible in principle and can be pastorally fruitful, provided that:
Theologically, the project should be understood not as the Church “baptizing Freemasonry,” but as Catholics taking an existing physical structure and redirecting it toward the truth, worship, and charitable mission of the Church.