A German by birth, a Filipino by choice… Born in Luebeck, Germany on August 6, 1895, he grew up to become a second lieutenant in the German Imperial Army, which he served from August 1914 to June 1919. He was wounded in battle five times. Adventurous, he also was. After, a brief sojourn in Maracaibo, Venezuela, he and his wife – nee Hedwig L. Christern, his childhood sweetheart, whom he married on April 26, 1924 - came to the Philippine, on May 1, 1931. Eventually, they made San Pablo City, Laguna their home province. Later, he came to be a Filipino citizen. Inspired by the example of his father Paul Schetelig, of Lodge Zu den drei Weltkugeln in Luebeck, he, too, sought admission into Freemasonry. In 1936, he became a Master Mason in Pinagsabitan Lodge No. 26, at Sta. Cruz, Laguna. From 1938 to 1940, he served as Worshipful Master of this lodge . His quiet activities in lodge affairs prodded his brethren to choose him their leader many a time. For instance, Malinaw Lodge No. 25, where he was a dual member, made him Worshipful Master, from 1946 to 1948. Werner strongly held that Masonry’s message to mankind consisted in (a) its insistence on the proper use of the light of reason; (b) its proclamation of man’s divine right of the freedoms of thought, speech, and worship; and (c) its respect for every human being, precisely because, like any other, each man is endowed with equal divine rights. He thus declared: …the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the colored and the white - they are all created equal and are all God’s children. And Masonry respects them as such and accepts them in its fold provided they believe in God and a hereafter. God is too great to care for dogmatic differences; God wants mankind to use the torch of reason, to seek for the truth to become free as Christ has said, “Ye seek the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Masonry, the friend of all religions, disregarding dogmatic differences, seeks for these divine truths to help build a brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. An avid seeker of divine truth, Werner joined the Manila Bodies, A & ASR on January 14, 1949. Having organized a chapter known as the Southern Luzon Bodies, he became the first Venerable Master of Mt. Makiling Lodge of Perfection. He, too, was the first Master of Kadosh of King Alfred Consistory. Besides being a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies he was active in Manila Chapter No. 2, R.AM as well as in Rosario Villaruel Chapter No. 2, OES. When he became Grand Master, he emphasized the necessity of educating the public thus: Times have changed, my brethren. Before the attack against our brethren Putong, Pangilinan and Trinidad, Masonry could perhaps live behind tiled doors, though these tiled doors have given reason to many misconceptions about our activities. Time has come now to open our temples whenever our work permits. Public installation of officers, public Rizal Day and Masonic Heroes Day celebrations, public Grand Lodge visitations after a tiled meeting, should become the rule rather than an exception. Let the people see our Altar with the open Bible in the center of our Lodge and let them know the meaning of the letter G and let them see that we kneel and pray. This is a part of the program of enlightenment. Hand in hand with, it has to be maintained, and possibly expanded, our weekly radio broadcasts and regular press news. Werner’s vision has encouraged Masons to open Masonry’s doors to the public during the installation ceremonies more often. Their attendance in such a Masonic function has, indeed, enabled non-Masons to be exposed to Masonry and to see for themselves what the Fraternity stands for.