The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced an August 2021 groundbreaking for the Salvador Brazil Temple.
Elder Adilson de Paula Parrella, a General Authority Seventy and Brazil Area President, will preside at the event.
Similar to other groundbreakings announced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony will be an invitation-only event without a specific date and will adhere to local government social-distancing guidelines.
The May 4 announcement included the release of an exterior rendering of the Salvador temple; however, additional official details about the temple and its site location are still forthcoming.
Announced on Oct. 7, 2018, by President Russell M. Nelson, Salvador, Brazil, was one of among 12 new temple locations identified in the closing session of the October 2018 general conference.
Brazil is home to more than 1.4 million members, with 277 stakes, more than 2,100 congregations and 36 missions, two of which are headquartered in Salvador.
The Salvador temple is among the 13 located in South America's largest country. Dedicated temples are located in Campinas, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife and São Paulo — the latter, dedicated in 1978, being the Church's first temple both in Brazil and on the continent.
A temple in Rio de Janeiro has been completed and is preparing to be dedicated, with other temples under construction in Belém and Brasília and additional temples announced for Belo Horizonte and São Paulo East.
Salvador is currently in the Recife Brazil Temple district, with that temple located a little more than 500 miles away.
