Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple

During the Sunday morning session of General Conference on 3 April 2016, President Thomas S. Monson stood at the pulpit, and before beginning his formal remarks, he announced four cities where new temples would be constructed, including the city of Lima, Peru, where a second temple would be constructed. The Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple was completed at the end of 2023.

Peru is home to well over half a million members of the Church and is one of only four nations with more than 100 stakes. There are 48 stakes in the Lima metropolitan area alone, yet it operates one of the smallest temples in the Church. Long waiting lines outside the temple are common in Lima, especially on Saturdays when Saints from around the country travel to the capital to participate in temple ordinances.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has three other dedicated temples in the South American country of Peru — the Lima Peru Temple was dedicated 10 January 1986, the Trujillo Peru Temple was dedicated 21 June 2015 by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Arequipa Peru Temple was dedicated in 15 December 2019 by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Five more are in planning and design — for Cusco, Chiclayo, Huancayo, Iquitos and Piura — all announced within the past two years [2022–2023] by President Russell M. Nelson.

To have two temples in Lima, four dedicated in Peru and five more announced “is a dream,” said Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s South America Northwest Area, which is headquartered in Lima.

“Practically nobody thought that in this short period of time that we would have nine temples, nine houses of the Lord in this country,” he said. “So the Lord is blessing this country.”

Elder Zeballos continued: “On behalf of the members, I express gratitude for these blessings to the Lord, of course, and to the First Presidency. And now the work we need to do is use these temples as the Lord expects. Having a temple is a great blessing, and having a dedication is a wonderful experience. But the homework now is to attend — the temple work starts now.”[1]

The Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple is the first temple built outside of the United States in the same city as another operating temple. Countries in the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple District include Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

The Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple evokes the lines of the so-called “Solomon” temples of the early twentieth century in Laie, Hawaii; Cardston, Alberta; and Mesa, Arizona. It does not have a spire or an angel Moroni.

Construction Status

On 20 October 2018, President Russell M. Nelson visited the site for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple, which will be located on the property of the Lima North Institute of Religion building and meetinghouse for the Habish and Cayetano Heredia wards on Avenida Eloy Espinoza in the San Martín de Porres District, just east of the Los Olivos District. Plans call for the existing buildings to be razed to allow for construction of the temple, as well as a patron housing facility, a missionary housing facility, a utility building, and an underground parking garage.

On 27 January 2019, the Lima North Institute of Religion building and the meetinghouse for the Habish and Cayetano Heredia wards were permanently closed for demolition.

A special devotional with Elder César E. Villar of the Seventy was held the evening of 27 January 2019 at the retiring institute building where a new Lima Northwest Institute was established. The stakes that had been assigned to the Lima North Institute were divided between the new Lima Northwest Institute and the relocated Lima North Institute.

Groundbreaking Ceremony

The official rendering of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple was released on 7 March 2019, in conjunction with the groundbreaking announcement.

Nearly three years after it was announced in general conference, a groundbreaking ceremony for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple was held on Saturday, 8 June 2019, under the direction of Elder Enrique R. Falabella of the Seventy and president of the South America Northwest Area. He was joined by his counselors in the area presidency, Elder Hugo Montoya, first counselor, and Elder Mathias Held, second counselor. The general public was invited to watch the services from local meetinghouses, while attendance at the temple site was by invitation only.

Elder Falabella told Latter-day Saints this groundbreaking is something they will never forget. It is the feeling in their hearts. "There is something special in the temples. As we spend more time in the Lord's house, our life will have greater meaning." Elder Held added, "Temples have always been a beacon of light. [It has been] "a source of strength for His people and today is no different. This will be a beautiful building, where the spirit of the Lord will be strongly felt."

Open House

A public open house began on Friday, November 10, and will continue through Saturday, December 9, 2023, excluding Sundays. A media day was held on Monday, November 6, after which invited guests toured the temple from Tuesday, November 7, through Thursday, November 9.

The temple is 47,413 square feet, stands nearly 81 feet high, and sits on 2.46 acres of land. It is located at Av. Eloy Espinoza 680, Urb. Palao, San Martín de Porres in Lima, Peru.

The temple features a symmetrical cement structure designed in an art deco style and clad in white granite. The light-colored stone contrasts with the surrounding cityscape. The exterior motifs carved in stone are abstract and reminiscent of textile fabrics and the harvest basket. The stained-glass windows contain creams, blues and greens, with a pale scarlet flower accent.

The gardens feature four mature olive trees, reflecting the name of the temple, planted at the four corners of the paths surrounding the building. The national flower of Peru, the cantua, has also been planted.

The interior stone floors are typical of Lima’s majestic buildings, made from solid travertine quarried in Peru. The main color is lilac, with pinto-brown nuances. The doors and decorative wood are stained cherry wood, with a simple finish and smooth lines and panels that reflect the exterior stone patterns. The interior stained-glass windows match the exterior design and again feature the national flower, the cantua or climbing trumpet, in scarlet buds and blossoms.[2]

Dedication

The Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple was dedicated by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in two sessions on the morning of Sunday, January 14, 2024. The dedicatory sessions were broadcast to all units in the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple district.

In his preparations to dedicate the Los Olivos temple on Sunday, Jan. 14, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recalled the words of Elder Parley P. Pratt, one of the first Apostles of the latter-day dispensation.

“He never personally set foot in Peru but viewed the coast as he sailed south from the United States,” Elder Christofferson told the Church News. “He was moved upon by the Spirit to state, ‘Should Peru sustain her liberties, a field is opened in the heart of Spanish America, and in the largest, best informed and most influential city [Lima] and nation [Peru] of South America, for the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the fullness of the gospel to be introduced.”

Then he said of Sunday’s dedication of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: “This is a day to pause and give thanks for the miracle the Lord has wrought in Peru. Prophecy has been and is being fulfilled.[3]

Joining Elder Christofferson and Elder Zeballos for the day’s two dedicatory sessions in Lima were their wives, Sister Kathy Christofferson and Sister Carmen Zeballos; Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan; and Elder Juan Pablo Villar, a General Authority Seventy and a Temple Department assistant executive director, and his wife, Sister Carola Villar.

Picture Gallery of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple

Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
"Holiness to the Lord, House of the Lord" inscribed in Spanish on the exterior of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
The recommend desk of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
The grand staircase of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
Baptistry of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
The chapel inside the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
An instruction room in the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
Bride's room of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
Sealing room in the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
The celestial room of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
Millwork details from the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
Details of chairs inside the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
Art glass of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple