DeMolay International
International youth fraternity patterned after the Freemasons / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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DeMolay International is an international fraternal organization for young men ages 12 to 21. There is in some select area a "Squire" program for those younger than 12. It was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919 and named for Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. DeMolay was incorporated in the 1990s and is classified by the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
Named after | Jacques de Molay |
---|---|
Formation | March 24, 1919; 105 years ago (1919-03-24) |
Founder | Frank Sherman Land |
Founded at | Kansas City, Missouri |
Type | Masonic youth fraternity |
Location |
|
Coordinates | 39.2784°N 94.6713°W / 39.2784; -94.6713 |
Region | |
Membership (2019) | 15,887 |
Volunteers | > 4 million worldwide[1] |
Website | demolay |
DeMolay is open for membership to young men between the ages of 12 and 21 who acknowledge a higher spiritual power. It has about 12,000 active members spread throughout every continent except for Antarctica.[2] There are active chapters in Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, Philippines, Argentina, Aruba, French Guiana, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador (affiliated to Peru jurisdiction), Italy, Romania, Greece (affiliated to Romania jurisdiction), France, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia (affiliated to Serbia jurisdiction), Bulgaria and the United States.[3]
Although young women are not permitted to join DeMolay, chapters are permitted to elect chapter "sweethearts" and "princesses."
DeMolay is part of the "family" of Masons and associated organizations. DeMolay is the youth group for young men. (Rainbow Girls and Job's Daughters are similar Masonic-related organizations for young women.)[4]