Belém Brazil Temple
On 3 April 2016, Thomas S. Monson, then-President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stood at the Conference Center pulpit for his opening remarks at the Sunday morning session of the 186th annual general conference. He began by saying, "Brothers and Sisters, before I begin my formal message today, I would like to announce four new temples, which in coming months and years will be built in the following locations." After naming the Quito Ecuador Temple and Harare Zimbabwe Temple, the Saints of Brazil rejoiced to hear the announcement of a temple to be built in Belém, Brazil.
Belém, the 11th most populous city in Brazil, is known as the gateway to the Amazon River. Anchoring a metropolitan area of over two million people, the city stands on the banks of the Pará River, approximately 60 miles upriver from the Atlantic Ocean in northern Brazil. Church membership in the city has grown substantially in recent years. There are five operating stakes and a total of seven stakes and two districts in the state of Pará. At the time of the announcement, the Saints in Belém attended the Recife Brazil Temple, which was serving over 80 stakes and districts throughout northeastern Brazil. Travel from Belém to Recife requires a two-and-a-half-hour flight or an exhausting 1,200-mile trip by land.
The Belém Brazil Temple is one of 16 temples in Brazil that are dedicated, under construction, or announced. It was announced on the 400th anniversary year of the founding of the city of Belém.
There are eight dedicated temples in Brazil: the São Paulo Brazil Temple, which was the first to be dedicated in South America, 44 years ago in 1978, and temples in Recife, Porto Alegre, Campinas, Curitiba, Manaus, Fortaleza, and Rio de Janeiro, which was dedicated on 8 May 2022.
Temples in Salvador and Brasilia (the country’s capital) are also under construction. Others have been announced in Belo Horizonte, Vitoria, São Paulo East, Santos, and Maceió.
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Temple Site
The Belém Brazil Temple will be constructed in a central location in the Belém metropolitan area near the Val de Cans International Airport. The site is located on Avenida Centenário, Val de Caes, Belém, Pará Brazil across from Bosque Grão Pará, a major shopping mall.
Temple Rendering and Groundbreaking Ceremony
The official rendering of the Belém Brazil Temple was published in a news release announcing the groundbreaking ceremony on 2 August 2019. The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that the groundbreaking ceremony would be held on Saturday, 17 August 2019.
On Saturday, 17 August 2019, the ground was broken for the Belém Brazil Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis, president of the Brazil Area, presided at the traditional ceremony. Hundreds of Church members and guests gathered to the site to participate in the historic services, including Church, civil, religious, and community leaders. Attendance at the temple site was by invitation only, but the proceedings were broadcast live via the internet to local meetinghouses within the proposed temple district.
Before pronouncing the dedicatory prayer on the temple site, Elder Aidukaitis said, "The building being constructed here is in honor of the Father and [His Son], Jesus Christ." During the prayer, he said, “May the members of the Church be inspired to find solutions to the problems and challenges that arise. May the neighbors feel the spirit of the work and may [they] be happy as they pass by and may the temple contribute to the beautification of this beautiful city. . . .May this work be a symbol of light and a representation of the love of Jesus Christ to all."
Open House and Dedication Dates Announced for the Belém Brazil Temple
The public open house for the Belém Brazil Temple will be from Saturday, 22 October 2022, to Saturday, 5 November 2022, excluding Sundays — 23 October and 30 October.
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication, with three sessions scheduled for 20 November 2022, at 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. The dedicatory session will be broadcast to units in the temple district.
Temples in Brazil
- Belém Brazil Temple
- Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple
- Brasília Brazil Temple
- Campinas Brazil Temple
- Curitiba Brazil Temple
- Florianópolis Brazil Temple
- Fortaleza Brazil Temple
- Goiânia Brazil Temple
- João Pessoa Brazil Temple
- Londrina Brazil Temple
- Maceió Brazil Temple
- Manaus Brazil Temple
- Natal Brazil Temple
- Porto Alegre Brazil Temple
- Recife Brazil Temple
- Ribeirão Preto Brazil Temple
- Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple
- Salvador Brazil Temple
- São Paulo Brazil Temple
- São Paulo East Brazil Temple
- Santos Brazil Temple
- Teresina Brazil Temple
- Vitória Brazil Temple
