{"id":133144,"date":"2026-01-27T05:16:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133144\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T05:16:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:16:31","slug":"jacksonville-florida-joao-pessoa-brazil-temple-groundbreakings-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133144\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville Florida, Jo\u00e3o Pessoa Brazil temple groundbreakings \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Construction of the Jacksonville Florida and Jo\u00e3o Pessoa Brazil temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially began Saturday, Jan. 24<\/a>, with groundbreaking ceremonies held to dedicate the future temples\u2019 sites.<\/p>\n

Presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony of the Jacksonville Florida Temple<\/a> was Elder Massimo De Feo<\/a>, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the church\u2019s United States Southeast Area presidency.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville, Florida, is \u201ca place that was chosen by the Lord,\u201d Elder De Feo said upon acknowledging the land\u2019s history as the place where the church\u2019s first stake in the South was organized. This is \u201ca sacred place,\u201d he said, \u201cit is a sacred moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to the ceremony\u2019s attendees, which included local government leaders and other dignitaries, Elder De Feo testified<\/a> of the \u201cpower of the temple\u201d to connect people to God and declared the Jacksonville temple will be a strength for Latter-day Saints and all others in the community.<\/p>\n

\"AA multistake youth choir of members from the Jacksonville area sing \u201cLet Zion in Her Beauty Rise\u201d at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Jacksonville Florida Temple on Jan. 24, 2026, in Jacksonville, Florida. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints <\/p>\n

The Jacksonville temple \u201cwill be a blessing for the community here,\u201d Elder De Feo said. It will be \u201ca symbol of Jesus Christ,\u201d a symbol of peace, unity, dialogue and a reminder that \u201cwe are all children of Heavenly Father who loves all of us regardless of our beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his prayer to dedicate the site, Elder De Feo pleaded for the temple to \u201cbecome a refuge for the weary, a place of revelation and a symbol of (God\u2019s) love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, we pray to bless this community that surrounds us and that the temple may radiate light, hope and truth for all those who visit or even only see it,\u201d Elder De Feo said in prayer. \u201cWe pray that they may recognize the light of the Savior, feel hope in the Savior and know the truth about the Savior as they humble their hearts in reverence for this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ExteriorExterior rendering of the Jacksonville Florida Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints <\/p>\n

The Jacksonville Florida Temple was first announced by the late President Russell M. Nelson in October 2022<\/a>, roughly 75 years after the state\u2019s first stake was organized in Jacksonville and a temple was prophesied to be built there.<\/p>\n

To be a single-story temple of approximately 29,000 square feet, the Jacksonville temple will help serve the more than 176,000 Latter-day Saints that call Florida home.<\/p>\n

It will be built on a 6.6-acre site at 3323 Loretto Road, Jacksonville, Florida, and join the state\u2019s four other temples, of which one is also under construction and the rest are in operation.<\/p>\n

\"ElderElder Massimo De Feo, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the United States Southeast Area presidency, fourth from left; and his wife, Sister Loredana De Feo, third from left, join local Church members to break ground for the Jacksonville Florida Temple on Jan. 24, 2026, in Jacksonville, Florida. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints <\/p>\n

The groundbreaking ceremony of the Jo\u00e3o Pessoa Brazil Temple<\/a> was presided over by Elder Joni L. Koch<\/a>, president of the church\u2019s Brazil Area.<\/p>\n

At the ceremony, Elder Koch taught listeners<\/a> \u2014 including Latter-day Saints, civic authorities, religious leaders and other guests \u2014 that the temple is a place Latter-day Saints can worship in to find the Savior, make covenants with God and become more like Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

He dedicated the site, thanking God in prayer for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and praying for the temple to be a testament of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay the beginning of this work inspire us all to rededicate our lives to Thee and Thy Beloved Son,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"ElderElder Joni L. Koch, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Brazil Area, and his wife, Sister Liliane Koch, stand by a rendering of the Jo\u00e3o Pessoa Brazil Temple on the day of its groundbreaking, Jan. 24, 2026, in Jo\u00e3o Pessoa, Brazil. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints <\/p>\n

The Jo\u00e3o Pessoa temple was one of 14 temples President Nelson announced for Brazil before his death this past September.<\/p>\n

Plans for the temple call for a single-story temple of approximately 18,850 square feet to be built on a 3.9-acre site in the Cabo Branco neighborhood of Jo\u00e3o Pessoa, Brazil.<\/p>\n

Once built and dedicated, the Jo\u00e3o Pessoa temple will help serve the more than 1.5 million Latter-day Saints that reside in Brazil.<\/p>\n

Of Brazil\u2019s 24 total temples, 11 are currently in operation, five \u2014 including the Jo\u00e3o Pessoa temple \u2014 are under construction and eight are in planning\/design stages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lord is directing us to build these temples to help us think celestial,\u201d President Nelson said upon announcing the Jo\u00e3o Pessoa temple and 19 others in October 2023<\/a>. \u201cGod lives. Jesus is the Christ. His church has been restored to bless all of God\u2019s children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ElderElder Joni L. Koch, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Brazil Area, seventh from left; and his wife, Sister Liliane Koch, eighth from left, join others to break ground for the Jo\u00e3o Pessoa Brazil Temple on Jan. 24, 2026, in Jo\u00e3o Pessoa, Brazil. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints \"ExteriorExterior rendering of the Jo\u00e3o Pessoa Brazil Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints \"TheThe ceremonial turning of the soil at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Jo\u00e3o Pessoa Brazil Temple on Jan. 24, 2026, in Jo\u00e3o Pessoa, Brazil. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Construction of the Jacksonville Florida and Jo\u00e3o Pessoa Brazil temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[28073,3754,116,118,117],"class_list":{"0":"post-133144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-church-of-jesus-christ","9":"tag-faith","10":"tag-jacksonville","11":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","12":"tag-jacksonville-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}