Five weeks after the groundbreaking of Peru’s fifth temple, ground has been broken for a sixth.
Ground was broken for the Piura Peru Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Elder Steven C. Barlow — a General Authority Seventy and member of the South America Northwest Area presidency — presided over the ceremony.
“There is a very lovely spirit and very special and good people here in Piura,” he said at the pulpit.
Information about the livestreamed ceremony was published in a Nov. 14 news release on the Church’s Peru Newsroom. Later that same morning, ground was also broken for the Cuernavaca Mexico Temple.
In his remarks at the Piura temple’s groundbreaking, Elder Barlow noted the two images displayed at the ceremony: a rendering of the temple design and a depiction of Jesus Christ.
“The temple’s architecture and design are divine,” he said. However, “what makes a temple most important is that it represents Jesus Christ and the covenants we make within a temple.”
The Savior is the reason why the Church is building temples, said Elder Barlow — to draw closer to Him through covenants. “There, we commit ourselves to becoming a better disciple of Jesus Christ.”
Elder Barlow thanked the Latter-day Saints whose faith and prayers made this day possible. “I feel the love that God the Father has for you. The prayers you have offered for so long, over the years, are already being answered.”
And not just members of the Church will benefit from the temple’s construction, he said; community members will also feel a special spirit as they come to the temple grounds.
In his dedicatory prayer on the site and construction process, Elder Barlow asked that those who see the temple construction would feel inspired and motivated to draw closer to Heavenly Father.
“We pray that all who come to this sacred place may receive peace and feel the spiritual power that comes from Thee.”
About the Piura temple and Church in Peru
As previously announced, the Piura temple will be a single-story building of approximately 18,850 square feet, built at Urb. Lote Unico, Prolongacion Ave. Los Tallanes. It will be built next to Antenor Orrego Private University in Piura, Peru.
An accompanying ancillary building is also planned for the 2.6-acre site. Piura lies in northwestern Peru, about 50 miles south of Ecuador and 35 miles east of the Pacific Ocean.
On Oct. 1, 2023, then-Church President Russell M. Nelson announced a house of the Lord for Piura, Peru. It was one of 20 temples announced in October 2023 general conference, including a temple for Huancayo, Peru.
The Piura temple is one of 10 Peru temples in various stages of operation and planning.
Four of those have been dedicated: the Lima Peru Temple (in 1986), Trujillo Peru Temple (2015), Arequipa Peru Temple (2019) and Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple (2024).
In addition to the Piura temple, the Iquitos temple is currently in the construction phase, after its recent groundbreaking on Oct. 10.
One additional temple planned for the country has a site location: the Cusco temple, announced in 2022.
That leaves three more planned for Peru that don’t yet have site locations: for Chiclayo (announced 2022), Huancayo (2023) and Chorrillos (2025).
On Jan. 1, 1956, Frederick S. Williams — a former mission president in Argentina and Uruguay — moved to Peru with his family. He contacted Church headquarters for permission to organize a branch and begin missionary work.
A branch in Lima was subsequently organized on July 8, 1956, and four missionaries arrived on Aug. 7, 1956.
The Andes Mission, headquartered in Lima, was established on Nov. 1, 1959. There were 300 Church members and five branches at the time.
Today, nearly 668,000 Latter-day Saints reside in just over 800 wards and branches in Peru.
