“The Church Is Here: Rome, Italy,” Ensign, March 2019
The Church Is Here
Rome, Italy
Photograph by Mossimo Criscione
When the Rome Italy Temple is dedicated on March 10–12, 2019, Latter-day Saints around the world will rejoice, especially the Saints in Italy. What more meaningful edifice could the “eternal city” receive than a house of the Lord?
The temple, the first in Italy, is located in the northeast section of Rome. It is part of a religious and cultural complex that includes a multifunctional meetinghouse (with a cultural hall and facilities for conferences), a visitors’ center, a family history center, and patron housing, all surrounded by gardens.
Missionary efforts in Italy began in 1850, but progress was interrupted by local concerns with the Church and by certain legal requirements. The Church was allowed to resume missionary efforts in 1964. In 1993, Italy granted formal legal status to the Church. In 2012, the Church received official status as a “partner of the state,” which allows the Church greater freedom to do more good, both as a church and as a social institution.
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Today nearly 27,000 Latter-day Saints in Italy meet in 101 congregations.
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President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) presided at the 2010 groundbreaking for the Rome Italy Temple, which was also attended by the vice mayor of Rome.
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There are two missions in Italy: the Italy Milan Mission and the Italy Rome Mission.