Recife Brazil Temple

Dedication of the Recife Brazil Temple

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Recife Brazil Temple on Nov. 15, 1996, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley told those in attendance that this second temple in Brazil was a "part of the plan of the Lord." He recounted how he was inspired to choose the temple site because of its highly visible, elevated position near a highway, as well as the "beautiful and very valuable" palm and mango trees on the grounds that were "a tremendous asset to this property."

"It is necessary that we add this holy house," said President Hinckley at the groundbreaking. "We hope, brothers and sisters, that you will live worthy of it. We hope that you will come here frequently. We hope that everyone in this area who becomes a member of the Church will have the opportunity of coming here to do ordinance work. Only as this is done can the work of the Lord be completed."

Joined by more than 7,100 Church members, President Hinckley returned to dedicate the Recife Brazil Temple on Dec. 15, 2000, amid heavy rain. Several of the attendees sacrificed more than standing in the rain, with some of them spending more than 72 hours traveling to the temple.

Church members in Brazil — a country of 3.29 million square miles (8.52 million square kilometers) — were accustomed to long temple trips, however, as many of the Brazilian Saints lived more than a week's journey away from the São Paulo Brazil Temple on the southeast side of Brazil, 1,329 miles (2,139 kilometers) away from the new house of the Lord in Recife.

Several attendees at the dedication of the Recife temple came from northern Brazilian cities such as Fortaleza, Maceió, Salvador and Natal. One of these attendees, Ana Maria Agra de Oliveira of Recife, told Church News at the dedication: “Now I live closer to heaven.”

Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May this sacred edifice be an inspiration to all who serve here, be they workers or patrons. May it represent to them the holiest of all things holy; and may the work they accomplish here be sacred and divine unto them. May they know they are in the service of the Master in that which they do in behalf of others.”

Read the dedicatory prayer of the Recife Brazil Temple here.

A temple for Recife, Brazil, was announced Jan. 13, 1995, to local leaders in the temple district. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the house of the Lord on Nov. 15, 1996.

Visitors toured the completed house of the Lord from Nov. 11 through Dec. 2, 2000. Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Recife Brazil Temple on Dec. 15, 2000.

Architecture and Design of the Recife Brazil Temple

The 37,200-square-foot Recife Brazil Temple was built on 5.59 acres of land. Mango trees and 200-year-old palm trees dot the temple grounds, which are adjacent to a busy highway. The interior of the temple features two instruction rooms and three sealing rooms.

The temple site is located on property that was initially thought to be unsuitable for building, as it was susceptible to flooding. In order to safely build the temple, more than 1,000 pilings were driven into the land to create a stable base.