Announcement of the Cusco Peru Temple
President Russell M. Nelson, 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the Cusco Peru Temple on April 3, 2022, during the Sunday afternoon session of April 2022 general conference. A fifth Peruvian house of the Lord was one of 17 temples announced worldwide during this conference.
Missionaries first arrived in 1956 in what is called the oldest living city in the Americas — and what was once the capital of the Inca Empire. Cusco’s first official branch of the Church was organized in July 1956, and a building was purchased for meetings in November. In 1959, when the Andes Mission was organized, there were 300 members in five congregations.
In January 1988, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles created seven stakes in one weekend — 32 years after missionary work began in this South American nation.
In an August 2006 live satellite broadcast to 33 stakes around Lima, Peru, Elder Ballard declared: “A miracle has been accomplished in Peru and the rest of Latin America by the power of the Lord’s Spirit working through His authorized servants, the missionaries.”
Timeline of the Cusco Peru Temple
The Cusco Peru Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson on April 3, 2022. Details about the temple’s groundbreaking have not yet been released.
Architecture and Design of the Cusco Peru Temple
According to site plans released by the Church on Jan. 29, 2024, the Cusco Peru Temple will be a building of approximately 9,950 square feet. The edifice will stand on a 2.48-acre site at Avenida Arcopata 452 Cusco, Cusco, Peru.