AT A GLANCE
Why go?
On a hillside in Porto Alegre's Vila Jardim neighbourhood, a cotton-white granite building topped by a single spire and the gold-leafed figure of the angel Moroni seems to float above the rooftops. This is the Porto Alegre Brazil Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the third temple ever built in Brazil and a quiet landmark where the city rolls down toward the Guaíba River that gave Porto Alegre its name.↗↗
Announced in 1997 and dedicated on 17 December 2000 by church president Gordon B. Hinckley, the temple was a milestone for the faithful of southern Brazil, who until then had travelled long distances to reach a house of worship of this kind. Today its grounds and exterior make it a notable point of visual interest for visitors, while the temple itself remains a working sacred space open only to church members.↗↗
A landmark on the hill
Set on a compact two-acre hillside site at Rua General Salvador Pinheiro 50, the temple looks out over the city toward the wide waterway of the Guaíba, the river-and-port setting that the name Porto Alegre itself commemorates. From the street and the surrounding hills you get the best sense of the building: a classic-modern single-spire design by architect André Belo de Faria, rising about 71 feet, its pale stone catching the southern-Brazilian light.
