The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has completed construction of the Rome Italy Temple and has invited the public to a free open house from Monday, January 28, through Saturday, February 16, except for Feb. 3 and 10. The temple will then be dedicated on Sunday, March 10, through Tuesday, March 12.
Thousands are expected to attend, including local members from the greater Chattanooga area.
Rome is one of the most historic locations in the world – a place where Peter and Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Last week, the Church posted photos at https://www.lds.org/church/news/photos-give-a-first-look-inside-the-rome-italy-temple?lang=eng, giving a first look inside the 40,000-square-foot Rome Italy Temple. Of the Temple’s design, architect Neils Valentiner said, “This had to be one that when you walked onto this site, every person should feel like they were on an Italian site. They would recognize it because of the materials, because of the design, and because of the surrounding.”
Materials include “Perlato Svevo stone flooring quarried in northern Tuscany; Cenia marble from Spain; Sapele, burl, and cherry wood millwork; and Murana glass fixtures from Venice.” The exterior is made of Bianco Sardo granite. According to the Church website, visitors are “greeted at the entrance by a floor-to-ceiling stained-glass wall featuring a scene of the life of Jesus Christ, with additional art-glass throughout inspired by the olive tree and its leaves” (lds.org). “The staircase’s oval design suggests the Michelangelo-designed Piazza del Campidoglio and its ramped staircase near Rome’s Capitoline Hill.” The grand staircase is considered an engineering feat. “It’s connected just at the top and the bottom, so it’s essentially a free-floating staircase – and of course, an elliptical shape,” project supervisor Bret Woods said.
The Rome Italy Temple is located at Via de Settebagni 376 near the village of La Cinquina Bufalotta and sits on a 15-acre parcel just off the A90 Grande Raccordo Anulare beltway that surrounds the city. The visitor’s center includes replicas of Thorvaldsen’s Christus and 12 ancient Apostles found in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark. (See related story at https://www.lds.org/church/news/a-closer-look-at-symbolism-of-christus-and-ancient-apostles-statues-in-rome?lang=eng. Elder David A. Bednar, a member of Christ’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles today, said, “When I saw the statues of the Savior, the Christus,and the Twelve Apostles, it was just a spiritually stunning moment for me.”
It was a reminder of why temples are built. When Jesus was upon the earth, He told His apostles: “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever that shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:19.). Temples are built for the purpose of performing eternal, sacred, not secret, ordinances. According to the late prophet David O. McKay, “the two great purposes of the temple are eternal marriage which binds the family for time and eternity, and “opening the door of the kingdom for those who have died without an adequate opportunity to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and its essential ordinances – when preached properly, earnestly, and sincerely to the honest in heart, will appeal to the justice of those who love the truth.” (See https://www.lds.org/ensign/1972/01/the-purpose-of-temples?lang=eng.)
Plans to construct the sacred edifice in Rome, Italy were first announced in 2008. The Rome Italy Temple will serve nearly 27,000 members in Italy as well as those in neighboring countries. It is the Church’s 12thTemple in Europe and 162nd worldwide. To make reservations for the free open house, please visit https://www.lds.org/temples/open-houses?lang=eng. After the Temple is formally dedicated, entrance will be reserved for faithful members of the Church.