DeMolay International

DeMolay International (also known as the Order of DeMolay), founded in Kansas City, Missouri in 1919, is an international fraternal organization for young men ages 12 to 21. It was 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 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization holding a group exemption letter.

DeMolay is open for membership to young men between the ages of 12 to 21 of good character who acknowledge a higher spiritual power. It has about 15,000 active members in the United States and Canada. There are active chapters in Australia, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Japan, Philippines and Serbia.. The Brazilian DeMolay has more active members than the United States, making Portuguese the most commonly used language in DeMolay chapters.

Although not a "Masonic organization" as such, DeMolay is considered to be part of the general "family" of Masonic and associated organizations, along with other youth groups such as the Order of the Knights of Pythagoras, Job's Daughters and International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. A family connection to Masonry is not a prerequisite for membership into DeMolay.

The Order of DeMolay was founded in 1919 with nine members, most of whom lived near each other in Kansas City.

The crown appearing in the self-adopted heraldic arms (the emblem) of the order contains 10 rubies, each representing one of the original nine members and the organization's founder, Frank S. Land. The rubies were originally portrayed as pearls; as each founding member died, the pearl representing him was changed to a ruby.

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