Curitiba Brazil Temple

Dedication of the Curitiba Brazil Temple

The Curitiba Brazil Temple was dedicated on June 1, 2008. Church President Thomas S. Monson presided over the dedication ceremony and was joined by local Latter-day Saints and other general authorities, including Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Charles Didier, president of the Brazil Area.

The house of the Lord was dedicated across four sessions, each of which was completely filled by local Latter-day Saints. Other Church members in the temple district watched a broadcast of the ceremony from their local meetinghouses. Those who attended the fourth temple session in person sang “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet” as President Monson exited the temple and walked to his car.

After the temple’s dedicatory ceremonies concluded, Elder Didier said that the temple represents new hope in a world where, at times, there is little or no hope. He described Church members in Brazil as dedicated and committed to the gospel, and said they looked forward to attending the temple, where they can have the same feeling as when they were in the presence of their Heavenly Father in the premortal existence.

“We saw as soon as the temple was announced a transformation in the members. They understand they must be qualified to enter the temple, and they have put forth greater effort to prepare to receive temple recommends.”

Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May this house provide a spirit of peace to all who observe its majesty, and especially to those who enter for their own sacred ordinances and to perform the work for their loved ones beyond the veil. Let them feel of Thy divine love and mercy. May they be privileged to say, as did the Psalmist of old, ‘We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company’ (Psalm 55:14).”

Read the dedicatory prayer of the Curitiba Brazil Temple here.

The First Presidency of the Church announced a temple for Curitiba, Brazil, on Aug. 23, 2002. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for this house of the Lord on March 10, 2005.

An open house was held for the temple from May 10 through May 24, 2008, and 40,000 Church members and nonmembers attended. The temple was dedicated over four sessions presided over by Church President Thomas S. Monson on June 1, 2008.

Architecture and Design of the Curitiba Brazil Temple

The Curitiba Brazil Temple was built on 8.15 acres of land and has an area of 27,850 square feet. Thirty art-glass window panes line the exterior walls of the building, which sits on a site full of grass, trees and flower beds.

On the interior, the temple features a baptistry and celestial room, as well as two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms. Artwork inside the edifice depicts Jesus Christ as well as local natural landscapes.