In Old Rio

Rio was an amazingly different place, even from Catholic Europe. In the newspapers deaths were never announced, but “7th day minds” were.
Whole columns of the society pages were taken up, as late as the 1930s, with lists of the attendees at that morning’s Masses in the more fashionable churches.
At the same time Freemasonry was highly influential, and men were often baptised with names like “Newton” “Comte” and “Washington”.

Indeed, as a sociological phenomenon Brazilian freemasonry is quite odd. Despite being in a Latin country, and being called a ‘Grand Orient’, it seems to have taken its cue regarding religion more from Anglo-American freemasonry.

The Church in Brazil at the time was not in a very good state, with the government first holding it back (for example, by refusing to allow novices to be professed in monasteries, etc.) and then realising that it needed to be reformed and being shocked by the ultramontanism of the intelligent men that advanced reforms.

All this led to a confused position in which the Church’s judicious ban on the faithful joining lodges was never particularly enforced or preached upon.

I believe it was the lovely old Duke of Caixas during his term as Prime Minister who helped settle ‘the religious question’ in the Church’s favour — being both a ‘staunch’ Catholic and very prominent in Brazilian freemasonry.