Puebla Mexico Temple Wiki

Mexico’s fourteenth temple was announced on October 7, 2018, by President Russell M. Nelson at the close of the 188th Semiannual General Conference.

Mexico Temples at the time of Announcement

Announced

• –

Under Construction

• –

Dedicated

• Mexico City Mexico Temple (1983)
• Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple (1999)
• Ciudad Juárez Mexico Temple (2000)
• Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple (2000)
• Oaxaca Mexico Temple (2000)
• Tuxtla Gutiérrez Mexico Temple (2000)
• Tampico Mexico Temple (2000)
• Villahermosa Mexico Temple (2000)
• Mérida Mexico Temple (2000)
• Veracruz Mexico Temple (2000)
• Guadalajara Mexico Temple (2001)
• Monterrey Mexico Temple (2002)
• Tijuana Mexico Temple (2015)

The official rendering of the Puebla Mexico Temple was released to the public on September 24, 2019, in conjunction with the groundbreaking ceremony announcement.

The groundbreaking of the Puebla Mexico Temple was presided over by Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela, Mexico Area president, on 30 November 2019. Elder Rafael E. Pino and Elder John C. Pingree Jr. — the first and second counselors, respectively, in the Mexico Area presidency — were also in attendance.

During his remarks to the congregation, Elder Pino said, “I assure you, dear neighbors, that the Church is going to be a good neighbor. This will be a place where you will feel peace, where holiness will radiate. This beautiful building will bring great improvements to the community. It will be a beautiful building, with very beautiful and clean gardens. We will be good neighbors without a doubt.”

The public was invited to attend an open house from Friday, 29 March through Saturday, 20 April 2024, where over 60,000 guests toured the newly completed building. Before the public portion of the open house, a media day was held on Monday, March 25, and invited guest tours were held from Tuesday, March 26 through Thursday, March 28, 2024.^[3]”Open House and Dedication Dates Announced for Temples in Mexico, the Philippines and Utah,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 11 Dec. 2023.

A little over a hundred years after the first baptism occurred in the city, Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Puebla Mexico Temple on 19 May 2024.

In the backdrop of the Puebla Valley stand the twin volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl, both exceeding 17,000 feet in elevation, more than 10,000 feet above the city. An old Aztec legend says Iztaccihuatl was a princess who had fallen in love with Popocatépetl, one of her father’s warriors who was sent to war.

Falsely told that Popocatépetl had perished in battle, Iztaccihuatl died in grief, believing the news. When the warrior returned, he took her body and knelt by her resting place — there they were covered with snow and changed into mountains, with Popocatépetl becoming an active volcano and still raging at the loss of his beloved Iztaccihuatl, which lies dormant.

Elder Gong said their towering presence represents “that universal yearning, a symbol of eternal love and a reminder that every heart yearns for the deepest family relationships to be eternal.”

Elder Gong focused his message during the dedicatory service on holiness, saying the purpose of the temple is for members to make covenants and receive ordinances that bring holiness into their lives.

“We are to come, to learn, to be sanctified and to become more like our Father in Heaven and His Son,” Elder Gong said. “It is a very real invitation to bring holiness into our lives through the Atonement of Christ and service to others.”^[4]Taylor, Scott. “Elder Gong Dedicates Puebla Mexico Temple, Emphasizing Holiness.” Church News, 19 Dec. 2024, www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2024/05/20/puebla-mexico-temple-dedication-elder-gerrit-w-gong-holiness-covenants-christ.

The Puebla Mexico Temple was constructed in the northwestern section of the city, just south of a highway interchange on a beautiful boulevard with a landscaped center island named 15 de Mayo.

Site

The outdoor fountain features such a ceramic interior, a limestone exterior and Pizarra Stone Blanco Olivo framing the pool area at ground level. Landscaping of the 6.81-acre temple grounds includes main walkways that are lined with sage, rosemary, lavender and local flowers such roses and birds-of-paradise.

The fountain is made up of ceramic from Local Talavera in the interior, limestone and stone white, framing the area at ground level. The tone of the tiles is based on the local crafts. It was designed by Soluciones in Piedra Franco.

The landscape architect was Susana Marín. The main walkways that lead toward the temple and meetinghouse are edged with sage, rosemary, lavender and flowers like roses and birds of paradise.

The arrow tipped fence along the front of the temple is bronze painted metal with a limestone basel.

The Puebla Mexico Temple is a one-story building with a central tower and domed cupola above the entrance. It is a steel frame and structural concrete construction,

Cladding

Precast concrete and marble elements clad the exterior. Its designs and details draw from the city’s Hispano-American heritage, colonialist baroque aesthetic and local flowers, as well as the area’s well-known and well-recognized Talavera ceramics.

Windows

Holdman Studios, Utah, designed of the stained glass windows in the temple exterior. They were manufactured in its workshops in Baja California, Mexico. The design Is inspired by Mexican motifs and patterns from the local ceramics. The colors are inspired by the Talavera Poblana and the floral motifs are combined in a range of shaded colors blue, yellow, orange and green graduates with accents in cream and white, with the dahlia as the representative flower.

Located just above the doors on the north side of the temple, this inscription is raised brass letters on a brass plate, with a raised edge around the border.

Located at the base of the spire, high above the doors on the north most side of the temple, these letters are inscribed into the stone of the facade, and gilded.

Located on the North east most corner, this inscription is on a panel slightly proud of the surface of the facade, with a chamfered edge. Made of the same material as the temple, the text is engraved and painted black.

The Puebla Mexico Temple has a single spire, on the North Center end, directly above the entryway.

The finial for the Puebla Mexico Temple is a fiberglass replica of Karl Quilters 1982 Angel Moroni Statue. The statue was placed 18 November 2022, and faces North North East.