Joan Andreu Sorts was undoubtedly one of the most unique and mysterious canons of the Barcelona Cathedral. He held this position at the end of the 15th century and came to have great influence in both ecclesiastical and political circles of the time. The aura of mystery is given by the capitular coat of arms inscribed on the tombstone found in the chapel of Sant Sebastià and Santa Tecla, which shows, among other elements, a compass, a symbol widely used by Freemasonry.
Sorts held various positions in the Church. He even became secretary to the Archbishop of Tarragona Pedro de Urrea, who promoted a fleet of galleys to fight Turkish pirates in the Mediterranean. As a canon of the cathedral, he was in charge, among other functions, of coordinating the works of the temple, for which reason he had close contact with the guild of medieval builders.
Probably for this reason, when he designed his capitular coat of arms —the status of canon included that of a knight—, he decided on a compass with the points open downwards; among them, a rose, and two kites in the upper corners. The compass is one of the tools used by medieval builders and has been inherited by modern Freemasonry, along with the square, the ointment and the level, which today acquire a philosophical role.
Sorts left as a great inheritance, a valuable altarpiece dedicated to Sant Sebastià and Santa Tecla that today can be admired in the chapel inside the cathedral dedicated to the two saints. Next to the feet of Sant Sebastià, you can see the kneeling figure of the canon as the main promoter of the altarpiece. On the floor of the chapel, there is the Sorts tombstone, with its characteristic shield, which is repeated by the rest of the furniture. Formerly, the chapel, the altarpiece and the remains of the canon were in the cloister until they were moved inside in 1950.
The shield with the compass has often been interpreted as Sorts belonging to Freemasonry. Of course it was not, because the secret society as such was founded in London in the early eighteenth century, although it is considered the heir to the old medieval corporations of Gothic cathedral builders.
It so happens that the shield of the Col legi d’Arquitectes is almost identical to that of Sorts, with the compass and the rose. The two comets do not appear.
