Caracas Venezuela Temple

Caracas Venezuela Temple
Number	96
Dedication	20 August 2000, by Gordon B. Hinckley
Site	0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Floor area	15,332 sq ft (1,424.4 m2)
Height	71 ft (22 m)
Official website • News & images
Church chronology
← Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple Caracas Venezuela Temple → Houston Texas Temple
Additional information
Announced	30 September 1995, by Gordon B. Hinckley
Groundbreaking	10 January 1999, by Francisco J. Viñas
Open house	5–12 August 2000
Current president	Abrahan Eulogio Quero Pernalete
Designed by	Taller de Arquitectura and Church A&E Services
Location	Caracas, Venezuela
Geographic coordinates	10°28′15.05639″N 66°50′14.25480″W / 10.4708489972°N 66.8372930000°W / 10.4708489972; -66.8372930000
Exterior finish	Granite
Temple design	Classic modern, single-spire design
Baptistries	1
Ordinance rooms	2 (two-stage progressive)
Sealing rooms	2
(edit)

The Caracas Venezuela Temple is the 96th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

History[edit]

In 1995, LDS Church president Gordon B. Hinckley announced plans to construct an LDS temple in Venezuela. Immediately following that announcement, a search was conducted to find a suitable site on which to build. Several properties were considered over the next eighteen months but none was chosen. It was finally decided the temple would be built in the city of Caracas on land that the church already owned.^[1] The groundbreaking of the Caracas Venezuela Temple took place in 1999.

Unexpected obstacles occurred during the construction of the temple. When digging the foundation, excavators discovered an underground spring. When the water was diverted, the excavation continued. However, the digging caused two major landslides. The first landslide did not cause any damage, but the second did. Eight tons of earth and materials were shifted in the slide. Despite these setbacks, the work was completed in just over a year and a half.

When Hinckley dedicated the temple on August 20, 2000, nearly six thousand members of the LDS Church were in attendance.^[2] The Caracas Venezuela Temple has a total of 15,332 square feet (1,424.4 m²), two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.^[3]

In 2020, the Caracas Venezuela Temple was closed temporarily during the year in response to the coronavirus pandemic.^[4]

See also[edit]

Barranquilla Bogotá Cali Guayaquil Quito Iquitos Caracas Maracaibo San José Panama City Brazil Temples (edit) = Operating = Under construction = Announced = Temporarily Closed

• Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by geographic region
• Temple architecture (Latter-day Saints)
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Venezuela

References[edit]

Additional reading[edit]

• Swensen, Jason (Aug 26, 2000), "Venezuela saints rejoicing at new Caracas temple", Church News
• Swensen, Jason (Oct 28, 2000), "Caracus, city of eternal vision, promise", Church News
• Swensen, Jason (Jan 25, 2003), "Church leaders work to buoy members' spirits: Strife in Venezuela causing political divisiveness", Church News
• "Country information: Venezuela", Church News, Feb 1, 2010
• "'Worth every sacrifice'", Church News, Aug 4, 2012
• Weaver, Sarah Jane (June 16, 2012), "Journey to the temple", Church News

External links[edit]

• Media related to Caracas Venezuela Temple at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Caracas Venezuela Temple page
• Caracas Venezuela Temple page
• The Caracas D. F. Venezuela Temple a brief history from announcement to dedication by Erin Howarth