Curitiba Brazil Temple to open for tours

CURITIBA, Brazil — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had its beginnings in this country in a small German community called Joinville. The handful of early members in the congregation couldn’t have imagined that nearly three-quarters of a century later a Latter-day Saint temple would be constructed less than 100 miles away in the city of Curitiba.

The doors of the new Curitiba Brazil Temple will open for public tours on 10 May. The open house for members of the public will continue through May 24, excluding Sundays.

“This temple is evidence of the growth of the Church in Brazil,” says local Church spokesman, Fernando Assis. “It is the fifth temple constructed on Brazilian soil. The other four are located in São Paulo, Recife, Porto Alegre and Campinas. A sixth is planned for Manaus.”

Approximately 25,000 members of the Church live in metropolitan Curitiba. There are 37,000 Latter-day Saints in the state of Paraná and more than a million throughout Brazil.

According to Assis, however, the real strength of the Church in Brazil is reflected in the devotion of its members. “Many Latter-day Saints in Curitiba see their new temple as an answer to heartfelt prayers,” he says.

Local Mormon Enos de Castro Deus Filho is one of the many members of the Church excited at the prospect of having a temple close by.

“After 70 years of waiting, I am deeply grateful for the Curitiba Temple,” he said.

Fellow Latter-day Saint Marcos Otávio Luz echoes the sentiment. “Since I was a small boy, I always heard that one day we would have a temple in Curitiba,” he said. “Today, that dream has come true.”

Temples are not regular places of Sunday worship for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are quite different from the thousands of regular chapels or meetinghouses all over the world that are used for Sunday services.

Latter-day Saints consider temples “houses of the Lord” where Christ's teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity.

Assis says that in Latter-day Saint temples, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and strengthen their commitment to serve Jesus Christ and their fellow man.