Dedication of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple
The Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple was dedicated by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Sept. 1, 2019. As he stepped out of the temple, a choir of Haitian Church members, excited for the first house of the Lord to be built in their country, sang “The Morning Breaks” in French.
“You sang that magnificently,” said the Apostle, then he offered a minor change in the first verse’s lyrics: “The dawning of a brighter day / Majestic rises on the world” was updated to “The dawning of a brighter day / Majestic rises on Haiti.”
Elder Bednar was joined at the three dedicatory sessions by several other general authorities of the Church, including Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department; and members of the Caribbean Area presidency — Elder Jose L. Alonso, Elder Eduardo Gavarret and Elder Jorge M. Alvarado.
For decades, Latter-day Saints in Haiti had had no choice but to travel to the neighboring Dominican Republic or other areas to claim temple blessings. Many people there endure economic challenges — and paying for passports, transportation and other costs had been almost impossible for many.
“I’ve only been able to go to the temple in Santo Domingo on two occasions,” said Eximus, a convert to the Church.
After the dedicatory sessions, Sister Susan Bednar — wife of Elder Bednar — said, “I can picture husbands and wives coming to the temple with their children to be sealed together as families. That’s what I’ll remember about this place — and envisioning of what’s going to happen here. It will be remarkable.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Heavenly Father, we pray that this holy temple will be a beacon of light and truth to the nation of Haiti. Please bless the people of this land with peace, with an appreciation for their legacy of liberty, with stability, and with a curiosity about and an interest in the restored gospel of Thy Beloved Son. May the lives of these good men, women and children always be under Thine infinite protection.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple here.
Timeline of the Port-au-Prince Temple
Church President Thomas S. Monson announced a temple for Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on April 5, 2015, in April 2015 general conference. Elder Walter F. González, president of the Caribbean Area, later presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for this house of the Lord on Oct. 28, 2017.
After the temple’s construction, the temple was open to the public for tours from Aug. 8 through Aug. 17, 2019. The Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple was dedicated on Sept. 1, 2019, in three sessions by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Architecture and Design of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple
The Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple is a 10,396-square-foot edifice encircled by tropical gardens and palm trees. The interior of the edifice is decorated with Swarovski crystal from Austria, used in the light fixtures, and Venetian hand-blown glass from Italy, used in the bride’s room.
Both palm leaves and hibiscus flowers are prevalent symbols throughout the temple, such as in the carpet and the art glass. These two plants pay homage to the Savior and respect to Haiti, as the palm leaves represent Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and the hibiscus is Haiti’s national flower.
Interior Photos of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple
