Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The concrete foundation for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple has been installed, and forming has begun for the exterior walls. In the country of Bolivia, there is currently one dedicated temple located in the country's third largest city of Cochabamba, which was selected for its central location between the two largest cities of La Paz and Santa Cruz. Now, all three cities will now be blessed temples. An exterior rendering has been released for the La Paz Bolivia Temple, but no groundbreaking date has been announced.

A satellite image taken at the end of August shows the progress that has been made on installing the foundations for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple and ancillary building. Santa Cruz ("Holy Cross" in English) is formally named Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Although it is the most populous city in the country today, it was a small outpost town for much of its history until the middle of the 20th century when it began to grow rapidly.

Construction of the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple, which began just over two months ago, is making great headway. A beautiful view of the temple site from an adjacent high-rise building shows the cured floor slab for the temple in the center and excavation for an ancillary building in the foreground. A tower crane has been installed next to the temple foundation, and a construction barrier surrounds the entire parcel.

Construction activity has picked up at the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple site, following the groundbreaking event that took place last month. Excavators and dump trucks are working together to clear vegetation and grade the property ahead of excavation for the foundation. The temple will rise on the north side of the city within the boundaries of the Universitario Ward in the Santa Cruz Bolivia Viru Viru Stake.

Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, President of the South America Northwest Area, presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The mayor of the City of Santa Cruz was in attendance along with other civic and religious authorities. "The temple is the holiest place on the face of the earth," said Elder Zeballos. In his dedicatory prayer, he prayed: "We thank You for Your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and Redeemer. We are so grateful for His love for each of us, love represented especially through His infinite atoning sacrifice. By dedicating this site, we rededicate our lives to You and Your Beloved Son."

Groundbreaking services for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple have been scheduled for Saturday, June 8, 2024. Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, president of the South America Northwest Area, will preside at the event and offer the site dedicatory prayer. Attendance at the temple site will be by invitation only. There is currently one dedicated temple in Bolivia, the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple. The Santa Cruz temple will be the second in the country, and a rendering has been released for the third, the La Paz Bolivia Temple.

The property acquired for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple has been revealed. The single-story, 29,000-square-foot temple will be constructed at the intersection of Avenida Quinto Anilla and Santa Rosa (Avenida Radial 27) in Santa Cruz. Detailed plans for the temple are still under development. An exterior rendering will be released and a groundbreaking date announced at a later date. It is the second temple to be constructed in Bolivia, following the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple. A third temple, the La Paz Bolivia Temple, is in the planning phase.