Mr. Grand Lodge… Because he epitomised dedication to the tenets of Freemasonry, this quiet, unassuming, but brilliant man was, in life, called “Mr. Grand Lodge.” He was initiated into the ancient mysteries of Masonry in 1917 and, for the next 64 years, up to the time of his death at the age of 90 years, never wavered in his labors and devotion to the Craft. Esteban Munarriz was born in Lingayen, Pangasinan on December 26, 1890. But it was in Manila where he was educated, to wit, at Sampaloc Intermediate School, Manila High School and Philippine School of Commerce (now Polytechnic University of the Philippines). After graduation from this last school, he was employed as a clerk in the Bureau of Education and, during his spare hours at night, he took accounting courses at the University of the Philippines. In 1913, he transferred to the Insular Life Assurance Company, where he stuck it out for the rest of his life. Munarriz was initiated in Dalisay Lodge shortly after the unification of Philippine Masonry in 1917. He was appointed Marshal of his Lodge in the following year. He was elected Secretary in 1919, Junior Warden in 1920, Senior Warden from 1921 to 1923, and Master from 1924 to 1925. In 1927, he was once more elected Secretary and Master again in 1930 and in 1931. He was elected Secretary three more times: in 1939, 1941, and 1945; in 1946, he served as Master for the fifth time. It was during this fifth term that he was elected Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge. In the years that followed, he went up the line until, in 1949, he was conferred the purple of the Masonic Fraternity, thus becoming the 32nd Grand Master. After stepping down from the Grand East, he continued in the service of the Grand Lodge. He was elected Grand Treasurer in 1954, 1955, and 1956. In 1956, he took over the position of Grand Secretary from Mauro Baradi, and he occupied it for the next 25 years. Munarriz did not confine himself to the Blue Lodge. In 1938, he joined the Philippine Bodies. He was coroneted Inspector General Honorary in 1949 and, in 1965, crowned Sovereign Grand Inspector General. He also became a member of Rosario Villaruel Chapter No.2, OES; of Far East Court No.1, Order of Amaranth; of Nile Temple, AAONMS; and of the York Rite Bodies. On his installation as Grand Master, Munarriz exhorted the Brethren to be instruments of peace, saying: Where there is hatred let us sow love; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. And he followed his own advice in a loving, confident, hopeful, enlightened, and joyful manner. Indeed, throughout his long tenure as a Grand Lodge officer, he gained a reputation as one who always had an attentive ear and good counsel for a Brother, one who was always ready to help a Brother in need, and one who fairly treated all by the square. In short, his installation speech may be said to have been a description of himself.