San Jose Costa Rica Temple
The San José Costa Rica Temple is the 87th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The First Presidency of the Church made an announcement on March 17, 1999, that a temple would be built in San José, Costa Rica. The announcement of the San José Costa Rica Temple made it the first temple in Costa Rica and the second temple in Central America.
The Church is relatively new in Costa Rica. A U.S. ambassador who was also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ ran the first Latter-day Saint Church meetings from his home during the years of 1943 through 1946. The first Latter-day Saint missionaries did not arrive until just before Costa Rica's 1948 revolution. By 1974 membership in the Church had grown enough that Costa Rica became its own mission. In 1960 there had only been 214 members in Costa Rica, by 1970 there were 1,700 members. In 1977 the first stake was created in Costa Rica. In 1992 Boyd K. Packer, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the land of Costa Rica for missionary work and membership grew even faster. Today there are 52,000 members in Costa Rica.[1] Before the building of the temple in Costa Rica, members had to travel to the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple. The trip was expensive, costing many families twice their monthly income.
Groundbreaking and Open House
On April 24, 1999 a groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication were held. Elder Lynn G. Robbins, a member of the Seventy and first counselor in the Presidency of the Central America Area, presided at the ceremony. Construction began soon after the groundbreaking and progress was quick to reach a deadline of finishing the temple in one year. The deadline was met and the temple was dedicated in June only fourteen months after the announcement to build the temple.
The temple was open for tours May 20-27, 2000. The temple plot is 1.93 acres. The exterior finish of the temple is made of Blanco Guardiano white marble from Torreon, Mexico. More than 20,000 people attended the open house and toured the temple.
Temple Dedicated
James E. Faust, a member of the First Presidency, dedicated the San José Costa Rica Temple on June 4, 2000. The San José Costa Rica Temple serves 52,000 Latter-day Saints in ten stakes and one district.
The San José Costa Rica Temple has a total of 10,700 square feet, two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.
