Fortaleza Brazil Temple
Plans to build a temple in Fortaleza, Brazil, were announced on 3 October 2009, by Prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas S. Monson, at the Saturday morning session of the 179th semiannual General Conference.
The Church has been in Brazil since 1929 and currently has more than 1,100,000 members spread throughout nearly 2,000 congregations. There are 13 stakes in the immediate vicinity of Fortaleza and several more in outlying areas. Members currently travel nearly 500 miles to attend the Recife Brazil Temple, which serves 70 stakes and districts in northern Brazil. President Monson said, "We desire that as many members as possible have the opportunity to attend the temple without having to travel inordinate distances."
The Fortaleza Brazil Temple will be the seventh temple built in Brazil. In addition to the Fortaleza and Recife temples, the other five temples either functioning or being built in Brazil are in Manaus, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Curitiba and Porto Alegre.
The site is located at Avenida Santos Dumont in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, on a small rise, offering patrons and visitors a lovely view of the beautiful coastal city of Fortaleza below. In addition to the temple, the site will also include meticulously manicured temple grounds, where visitors are welcome to stroll and experience the peaceful atmosphere that permeates this place of worship.
According to LDSChurchTemples.com, the temple will be "an exquisitely detailed double-towered edifice surrounded by lush landscaping and built into a slope to permit a daylight basement. Plans for the site also call for an Accommodation Building, a meetinghouse, and maintenance buildings."
Groundbraking Ceremony
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the temple site on Tuesday, 15 November 2011. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over the ceremony and assured those gathered that "this temple will be a source of hope, light, and faith in God for all who come and walk here and in this field. This city will always be better and different because of the temple to be built here."
