The number of Latter-day Saint temples dedicated or planned for Brazil has reached 20 with the announcement during April 2023 general conference of two more.
Church President Russell M. Nelson at the close of conference listed 15 new locations for temples, including Teresina and Natal in northeast Brazil.
The first temple in Brazil, and the first in South America, was the São Paulo Brazil Temple, dedicated by late Church President Spencer W. Kimball in 1978 and rededicated after remodeling in 2004. Other dedicated temples are in Recife (dedicated in 2000), Porto Alegre (2000), Campinas (2002), Curitiba (2008), Manaus (2012), Fortaleza (2019), Rio de Janeiro (2022) and Belém (2022).
The Brasília Brazil Temple will be dedicated Sept. 17 by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Ground was broken Aug. 7, 2021, to start construction on the Salvador Brazil Temple. Nine temples are in planning stages.
Brazil has 1.46 million members of the Church and is the country with the third most members, behind just the United States and Mexico.
Teresina
- Brazilian state of Piauí’s capital and largest city.
- Teresina is the nation’s 21st-largest city, with a population of about 870,000. Piaui has about 3.3 million residents.
- The city is in an inland area of northeast Brazil, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of the Atlantic coast.
- Teresina has 3 stakes; the 1st was organized in 1993. São Luis, in the neighboring state of Maranhão, has 2 stakes.
- The area is currently in the Fortaleza Brazil Temple district, which is a drive of nearly 375 miles (600 kilometers) to the east from Teresina. The Fortaleza temple district includes 24 stakes.
Natal
- Natal is the capital and largest city in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
- Brazil’s 20th-largest city, with a population of about 900,000. Rio Grande do Norte has about 3.5 million residents.
- City is on Brazil’s northeastern tip as the South America continent juts into the Atlantic Ocean.
- Natal has 4 stakes; the 1st was organized in 1992. A 5th stake in Rio Grande do Norte is in Caicó.
- Currently in the Recife Brazil Temple district, with the temple a drive of about 175 miles (280 kilometers) to the south. The Recife temple district comprises 45 stakes. The under-construction Salvador and announced Maceió temples also are in the current Recife temple district.
