See Inside the New Fortaleza Brazil Temple
Contributed By Aubrey Eyre, Church News staff writer
Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
The Fortaleza Brazil Temple—which will become the Church’s 164th operating temple worldwide and seventh in Brazil—is opening its doors to the public beginning Saturday, April 27.
The temple’s open house runs from April 27 through May 18, excluding Sundays. The temple will be dedicated on Sunday, June 2; a youth devotional will be held the evening prior to the dedication on June 1.
With a single domed spire topped by a gold-plated statue of the angel Moroni, the temple stands over 100 feet tall and sits on a gently rising slope overlooking the city. The exterior of the temple is Branco Ceara granite. In the interior, motifs featuring Brazilian orchids and trailing vines are used among the glass art, carpets, painting, and woodwork.
The temple grounds, which include a meetinghouse and apartments for those serving in the temple, are located in an area known as Avenida Santos Dumont in Forteleza, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Ceara.
President Thomas S. Monson announced the Fortaleza Brazil Temple during general conference in October 2009. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over the November 15, 2011, groundbreaking at the temple site.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ presence in Brazil dates back to 1929; in the time since, the membership in the country has grown to nearly 1.4 million.
Brazil is home to six operating temples, the first in the country and all of South America being the Sao Paulo Brazil Temple, dedicated in 1978. Other operating temples are located in Campinas, Curitiba, Manaus, Porto Alegre, and Recife. An additional temple in Rio de Janeiro is under construction, with three more announced for Belem, Brasilia, and Salvador.
In November 2018, the Church announced that Paulo Renato Grahl and his wife, Zuleika Morais Grahl, would serve as the first temple president and matron for the new temple. President Grahl is a former Area Seventy.
Recommend desk of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Baptistry of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Baptistry of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Instruction room in the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Sealing room in the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Celestial room of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Designer detail in the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Art glass detail in the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Chandelier and art glass detail in the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Entryway of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
Fortaleza Brazil Temple.
