Rome cancels Catholic funeral for famous guitarist after it was discovered he was a member of a Masonic lodge
The guitarist, who collaborated with renowned composer Ennio Morricone, died on August 5 at the age of 88. He was to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria in Montesanto in Piazza del Popolo.
As ekai.pl writes, D’Amario was a renowned classical guitarist and professor at the Conservatory of San Pietro and Majella in Naples. He collaborated with Ennio Morricone for years, and his guitar parts appeared on the soundtracks of the films A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and Once Upon a Time in the West, among others.
After the musician and guitarist’s death, the Grand Orient of Italy (Grande Oriente d’Italia) publicly acknowledged his ties to Freemasonry. It is the most important and largest Masonic organization in Italy, founded in 1805. It presented the late musician as the founder of the Roman lodge Giuseppe Leti and as the composer of the anthem of the Grand Orient of Italy.
This information was also communicated to the rector of the basilica where the guitarist was to be buried, Bishop Antonio Staglianò, president of the Pontifical Theological Academy.
The bishop then contacted Cardinal Rein, the pope’s vicar for the diocese of Rome. After consulting the diocese’s legal department, the cardinal refused to allow a funeral mass.
The rector of the basilica later spoke with the musician’s daughter, who said she had no idea her father was a Freemason. The church also received no information indicating that the guitarist had left the lodge before his death.
So instead of a funeral Mass, only a prayer for the deceased was held in the circle of the family in the presence of a priest, who, however, was not wearing liturgical vestments. Bishop Staglianò noted that a Holy Mass could be celebrated for the deceased at a later date.
The cardinal’s decision aligns with the Catholic Church’s position, which considers the principles of Freemasonry incompatible with Catholic teaching. In November 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed that active membership in Freemasonry is incompatible with the teaching of the Church.
The family did not disclose where the guitarist was finally buried due to the circumstances.
