The Rome Temple was dedicated on March 10, 2019, by President Russell M. Nelson. The temple is the first built in Italy and the thirteenth in Europe.
In 1997 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased 15 acres of land on a slight hill, with a grove of olive trees. At the time it was used as a Church farm but local members of the Church quickly referred to the land as a future temple site, long before the temple was announced.
In the October General Conference of 2008, President Thomas S. Monson announced plans for the Rome Temple, bringing a long-anticipated temple to the people of Italy.
It would take a while for the Church to receive all of the proper permits to construct. Before receiving construction permissions in Rome, the land had to be examined for Roman ruins. If there were any ruins the Church would have to find a different piece of property to build upon. When it came time for the inspection, Church members in Rome prayed and fasted that no ruins would be discovered on the property. The inspection was enforced by digging trenches every 10-15 feet across the property. Miraculously no ruins were uncovered on the entire site, and an old Roman village was discovered only 100 yards away from the property.
Groundbreaking for the temple took place on October 23, 2010, by Thomas S. Monson. The temple is built with the renaissance spirit, using the finest work which European artists can offer. Many of these works are based upon Michelangelo’s original designs.
The visitors’ center features life-size statue replicas of the Christus, by Bertel Thorvaldsen, and it is the first visitors’ center to debut marble statue replicas of the 12 apostles. All of these masterpieces were made entirely with the same dimensions and granite as the original statues.
The Rome Temple was dedicated in seven different sessions from March 10 to March 12, 2019. This was a historical dedication as it was the first time that all fifteen members of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered together outside of the United States.