Ground has been broken for the Ribeirão Preto Brazil Temple, one of the 23 total temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that are dedicated, under construction or in planning for South America’s largest nation.
Elder Joni L. Koch, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Brazil Area, presided at the Saturday, June 22, groundbreaking ceremony in Ribeirão Preto, offering remarks and a prayer dedicating the site and construction process.

Approximately 500 people attended the event, including local Church leaders and members, neighbors of the temple site, civic and community representatives and leaders of other faiths.
In his remarks, Elder Koch spoke of serving as a full-time missionary in Ribeirão Preto 44 years earlier and being welcomed by many local Latter-day Saints, including the Ginatto family. He called on one of the family members — Marcia Ginatto Constante, who served with her husband on the groundbreaking committee and was a young woman when Elder Koch served in her city — to share her testimony.
“My people were part of the growth of the Church,” she said. “Many who have already passed away worked so this temple could be built, and that day has come. What a blessing to be part of the Lord’s kingdom and see His house being built here. ... This work is moving forward for the coming of Christ.”
In his prayer, Elder Koch offered words of reverence and gratitude to Heavenly Father for the Savior Jesus Christ. “We give thanks to Thee for having sent Thy Son Jesus Christ to earth, whose Atonement, gospel, restored Church and covenants enable us to return to Thy presence,” he prayed.

He also paid tribute to the early and longtime Latter-day Saints in the Ribeirão Preto area in the southeast region of Brazil.
“We remember with appreciation those who were the first members of the Church in this region,” he said. “The example of these pioneers has been a moral and spiritual support for Thy kingdom to flourish from these few who stood firm so that thousands of Latter-day Saints could on this day — here in this part of the earth — enjoy this sublime moment.”
The ceremony took place under clear-blue skies, with other local members participating in the ceremony and a video in Portuguese available of the event.
Marly Pimenta Vecchi of the Ribeirão Preto Sul Stake, who has been a Church member for almost 70 years, recalled the importance of the house of the Lord in her life and that of her family, including her sealing in the São Paulo Brazil Temple after its dedication in 1978.
When a temple was announced for Ribeirão Preto, she recalled that “the feeling of gratitude came over all of us. I am so grateful that God has preserved me to see the growth of the Church in this region and that I can participate in this occasion, knowing that so many people will be blessed as I was.”
Arthur Neres de Lira Azevedo spoke of performing proxy baptisms for his grandparents in the Campinas Brazil Temple. “I was so happy when I heard that a temple would be built so close to our homes where we can go more often,” the young man said. “I know we can trust in Jesus Christ and the comfort we have from him, especially when we are in the temple.”
And 15-year-old Hector Moreno Benavides of the Ribeirão Preto Leste Stake ssaid: “The temple is the most sacred place on earth. It is where heaven and earth connect, and we have the privilege of feeling closer to Jesus Christ. The temple touches our hearts. The Lord is in the temple; we don’t see Him, but we can feel Him.”
About the house of the Lord in Ribeirão Preto
President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for Ribeirão Preto in October 2022 general conference. It was one of 18 locations — including Brazil’s Londrina — that he identified at the close of the Sunday afternoon session.
Less than two months later, a site for the house of the Lord was released, on Nov. 28, 2022. Planned as a single-story temple of approximately 32,000 square feet, the Ribeirão Preto Brazil Temple will be built at Avenida Antônio Marçal and Rua José Brandani in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.

An exterior rendering of the temple was published earlier this year, on Jan. 8.
Since the Oct. 2, 2022 announcement for temples in Ribeirão Preto and Londrina , the planning and progression of the two houses of the Lord have proceeded almost in step with each other – from site announcement to exterior rendering release to groundbreaking.
The Londrina Brazil Temple will have its groundbreaking on Aug. 17, one of three temples scheduled that day, along with the Austin Texas and Santiago West Chile temples.
The Church makes every effort to construct temples in an expeditious manner. At times, various reasons may delay a temple’s completion and dedication.
About Ribeirão Preto, the Church and its temples in Brazil
Located in southeastern Brazil and with a metro-area population of nearly 1.7 million people, Ribeirão Preto is in the northeastern region of the state of São Paulo, about 313 kilometers from the state capital of São Paulo. Ribeirão Preto dates back to 1856 and is named for the black creek or black stream by which it was built. The fertile soil of the area fostered the city’s deep roots in agriculture and farming.
Nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints in more than 2,170 congregations reside in Brazil, with missionary work and Church operations dating back to 1928. The Book of Mormon was translated and published in Portuguese in 1940, helping spark a new era of growth in Brazil.
Brazil is home to 23 total temples dedicated, under construction or announced, including the São Paulo Brazil Temple, the first not only in Brazil but across all of South America when it was dedicated in 1978.
Other dedicated and operating temples are located in Belém, Brasília, Campinas, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife and Rio de Janeiro, with a temple scheduled for dedication in Salvador on Oct. 20.
The temple in Belo Horizonte has been under construction since June 2023 and is now joined by the future house of the Lord in Ribeirão Preto.

An additional 10 temples are in planning and design in Brazil — besides Londrina, the others are in Florianópolis, Goiânia, João Pessoa, Maceió, Natal, Santos, São Paulo East, Teresina and Vitória.
Ribeirão Preto is in the Campinas Brazil Temple district, a distance of about 230 kilometers (143 miles) and a drive of at least three hours.