Maggio Installed 90th Grand Master of Masons of Massachusetts

On December 27th, 2019, Richard Maggio was installed as the 90th Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts. Maggio is following in the footsteps of Past Grand Masters like Paul Revere and General Joseph Warren. The office of Grand Master is a volunteer position; the Grand Master is elected and installed on an annual basis. Tradition dictates that first-year Grand Masters are re-elected for a second and third year before another new Grand Master is elected.

As Grand Master, Maggio presides over more than 23,000 Masons and 215 lodges throughout the Commonwealth. The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts was chartered in 1733, following the establishment of the Grand Lodges of England in 1717 and Ireland in 1725. This makes Massachusetts the third oldest Grand Lodge in the world and the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. Maggio is considered to be the third “ranking” Mason in the world due to this precedent.

The Grand Master has two distinct responsibilities. In this capacity he has numerous ceremonial privileges. He ensures the activities taking place within the jurisdiction comply with the Constitutions and Regulations of the Grand Lodge. The second responsibility he has is leading the business of the Grand Lodge, including:

• Chairman, Grand Lodge Board of Directors.
• President, Masonic Education & Charity Trust (ME&CT). The ME&CT is a 501©3 overseeing the charitable activities of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
• Chairman, Grand Lodge Library and Museum Board of Directors; a 501©3 responsible for the Samuel Crocker Lawrence Library and the Grand Lodge Museum collection, both of which are open to the public.
• Member of the Masonic Health System (MHS) Board of Directors. With corporate headquarters in Charlton, MA, MHS includes The Overlook Life Care Community, which features independent, enhanced, post-acute and skilled nursing; as well as the Overlook Visiting Nurses Association which serves greater than 1,800 people each day.

Maggio was raised in Winchester and graduated from Winchester High School. He worked for 45 years as a general contractor with his father William and brother Robert until he retired in 2015.

In 2000, he began his Masonic career by joining William Parkman Lodge in Winchester. He served as the Worshipful Master, or presiding officer of the lodge, in 2005-2006. Masons use the original definition of the word worshipful: honorable. English mayors and judges are addressed by the title of “Worshipful” even today. As Grand Master, members of the fraternity will call Brother Maggio “Most Worshipful.”

He is also a member of several other Masonic lodges, including Golden Rule Lodge in Wakefield, Mount Horeb Lodge in Woburn, Wisdom Lodge in West Stockbridge, Mount Holyoke Lodge in South Hadley and The Master’s Lodge in Needham. His service to the Grand Lodge began in 2009 when he was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for the 13th Masonic District. In 2015, he was elected to serve as Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge, the fourth highest position a Mason can hold in the state.

In that same year, Maggio also received the Henry Price Medal, the most prestigious honor conferred by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. In 2012, Maggio began spearheading the campaign to launch the Massachusetts Freemasonry vanity license plate, which is now available through the Registry of Motor Vehicles in large part because of his efforts.

He has been active in several Masonic organizations in his lifetime. Maggio is a member of several organizations under the York Rite of Freemasonry. He is a member of Saint Paul’s Royal Arch Chapter, Orient Council of Royal and Select Master Masons, and Saint Bernard Commandery #12.

He also belongs to the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, as be became a 32° Mason in the Valley of Boston in 2003. Maggio is also a Shriner, as a member of the Aleppo Temple in Wilmington, as well as the Massachusetts College of Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis.

Freemasons belong to the world’s oldest and largest fraternity. Comprised of men from every race, religion, nationality, and opinion, it aims to promote friendship, morality, and brotherly love among its members. Dedicated to the principle of making good men better, Freemasonry develops and strengthens the character of its members by providing meaningful opportunities for fellowship, charity, leadership, and education. By contributing to the improvement of the individual man, through him the institution helps make his family, workplace, and community better. North American Masonic philanthropies contribute more than $3 million every day, 70% of which goes directly to the general public.