This famous Templar was burned to death declaring his orthodoxy on March 18, 1314, on a small island on the Seine River in France.
The De Molay fraternity named in his honor began in Kansas City, Missouri, in the 1920s, and today there are around 1,000 chapters in the United States alone.
In the days of King Philip the Fir, there were manoeuvres underway to abolish the Order of the Temple in order to found a new military order. Jacques de Molay then demanded a papal inquiry into the accusations of magic and heresy (a crime considered to be within the jurisdiction of the Church), against the Order, but King Philip was determined to thwart this.
De Molay died fighting for his own defense, and has always been considered a hero amongst Freemasons.
