The San Juan Puerto Rico Temple is the 176th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, Puerto Rico. It is the church's third temple in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and the only one in Puerto Rico, serving the 23,000 members who live there.

History

The intent to construct the temple was announced by church president

Russell M. Nelson Russell Marion Nelson Sr. (born September 9, 1924) is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Nelson was a member of the LDS Church ...

on October 7, 2018, during the church's general conference. Nelson announced 11 other temples at the same time, bringing the total number of temples operating, under construction, and announced at that time to 201. Following release of an artist's rendering of the temple a few days earlier, on January 17, 2019, the church announced that a groundbreaking to signify the beginning of construction would be held on May 4, 2019, with Walter F. González, the president of the church's

Area, presiding. At the groundbreaking, church leaders noted that construction of the temple was anticipated to take about two years. The temple was originally planned to be completed in 2021, but construction was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A public open house was held from December 1-17, 2022. The temple was dedicated by

D. Todd Christofferson David Todd Christofferson (born January 24, 1945) is an American religious leader and former lawyer who serves as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He has been a general ...

on January 15, 2023, where over 2,100 church members watched remotely during the three sessions held.

Architecture

The San Juan Puerto Rico Temple has a single story and one spire. It is 6,988 square feet and 74 feet tall with the spire (24 feet without), which was inspired by the towers on

San Juan City Hall San Juan City Hall (Spanish: ''Casa de la Alcaldía de San Juan'', or just ''Alcaldía de San Juan'') is the seat of government for the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan in Puerto Rico. The city hall is located in Old San Juan, in front of the ...

. The exterior of the temple is concrete and inspired by local Spanish colonial architecture. The interior glasswork was inspired by

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

motifs on local buildings. The walkways around the temple were made by locally-fabricated concrete The crema vosscione tile was quarried in Mexico and the accent cement tiles were manufactured in Vietnam, while the carpet patterns Spanish Colonial styles and hosts colors evocative of Puerto Rico.

References

External links

San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
at ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org {{LDS-North-America Temples (LDS Church) in North America 21st-century Latter Day Saint temples Buildings and structures in San Juan, Puerto Rico 2023 establishments in Puerto Rico Temples (LDS Church) in the United States Temples (LDS Church) in Latin America Temples (LDS Church) completed in 2023 Religious buildings and structures in Puerto Rico

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links