Ground was broken for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple on Saturday, October 28, 2017, as Mormons and community leaders gathered to participate in the event. The temple was announced by President Thomas S. Monson April 5, 2015.
Elder Walter F. González of the Seventy and president of the Caribbean Area directed the groundbreaking ceremony. Elder Claudio D. Zivic and Elder Jose L. Alonso, of the Area Presidency, were also present during the ceremony. They hosted Dominique Saint-Roc, mayor in the community of Pétion-Ville, where the temple will be located.
A brief service was held prior to the groundbreaking. The program included music performed by a local choir and messages by the Area Presidency and local leaders. The program was conducted by Elder Hubermann Bien-Aimé of the Seventy.
“When I think about this day, I can only think about everlasting joy and gratitude for all what the temple means in our lives”, said Elder Gonzalez as he responded questions from the local media. “This is a day of joy and gratitude when we start to build a portal to heaven as we come to better understand the importance of the covenants made in the temple and how they impact our daily lives, both in this time and in eternity.”
Elder Hubermann Bien-Aimé, of the Seventy, and his wife.
A painting of the Haiti Port-au-Prince temple was in display during the ceremony.
hurch leaders break the ground for the construction of the Haiti Port-au-Prince temple. Elder Walter F. Gonzalez, of the Seventy, presided in the ceremony and offered a dedicatory prayer for the ground.
After greeting the audience with some words in French, Elder Walter F. Gonzalez, of the Seventy, uses help from Kerving Joseph as an interpreter, to address the 300-members audience gathered to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Haiti Port-au-Prince temple.
Elder Claudio D. Zivic, of the Seventy, and his wife Dina, smile as they await for the beginning of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Haiti Port-au-Prince temple.
Adults and children in attendance challenged the bright sun of the Caribbean and didn't miss an opportunity to hold their smart phones high and take some memories back home.
Hundreds of Haitian members of the Church accompanied by family and friends gathered to experience what they called “a historic moment”, including missionaries from around the country, the United States and Canada who served in the country several decades ago.
“For us, personally, is a very emotional day. For us to dream that there would be a temple in Haiti was more than we could even hope for”, said Don Miller, who served as a mission president in Port-au-Prince in 1998 and traveled from Calgary with his wife Janet to attend to this ceremony. “When president Monson announced the temple in Haiti, we were in the conference center and my wife screamed…so we’re very happy, this is a marvelous day for us”.
Although the preparations of the ground started about a month ago, the construction will officially start right after the ceremony. Once the temple is completed, open house dates will be announced so the public can tour the temple before it is dedicated.
The temple district comprises more than 17,000 Latter-day Saints located in four Haiti stakes and districts (similar to a diocese).
There are currently 182 temples throughout the world, either in operation, under construction or annoucned. Six are being rennovated and seven more temples have been announced for renovation in 2017 and 2018.
For more information about temples, visit www.mormontemples.org. The site includes general information on temples, the history of the Church and the purpose of temples.
Source: Mormon newsroom Jamaica