PARIS, April 8, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has scheduled tours, to begin later this month, of the faith’s most recently completed temple and the first to be opened in France.
But everyone can take a video and pictorial tour of the facility through images released Saturday by the LDS Church.
“Members of the Church in France have been looking forward to a temple to be built for years,” said Bishop Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in a prepared statement. “It’s an answer to prayers,” he said.
The LDS Church has released a video on the Paris temple, along with images of the exterior and of interior rooms and details.
People who will be in France can apply for tickets to visit the new temple from April 22 through May 13, 2017, except for the Sundays of April 23 and 30 and May 7.
A cultural celebration will be held May 20, 2017, featuring music and dance performances by local Mormon youth. The 44,175-square-foot temple will be dedicated the following day, May 21, in three sessions. It will then become the 156th operating temple of the Church worldwide.
Plans to build the temple in France were announced by President Thomas S. Monson October 1, 2011. Ground was broken on Aug. 24, 2012.
The temple was built on more than two acres of land at 46 Boulevard Saint-Antoine in the French community of Le Chesnay.
“It is (a) five-minute walk from the entrance to the gardens of the Versailles Palace,” Caussé said.
Design teams from Salt Lake City and France worked together to ensure that the new Paris France Temple reflected the history and culture of the area.
Unlike other Mormon temples, the Paris France Temple does not have an angel Moroni atop the temple.
“There were some height restrictions in our neighborhood,” said Ramon Lopez Martinez, project manager of the temple project. “However, we have a Christus statue … made of stone in Italy, and it’s a great addition to our beautiful garden.”
“And to have this Christus in the garden of the temple, it’s to testify that we are a Christian church and that we believe in Christ and we know that [He] is our Savior and Redeemer,” said member Louis Marie Liebard.
There are currently about 38,000 members of the Church in more than 100 congregations in France, many of them second-, third- and fourth-generation Latter-day Saints. Among those to serve LDS missions in France is politician Mitt Romney.
Reservations for those who will be in France during the open house can be made online at templeopenhouse.lds.org.
To enjoy images online, click on the video player above or the gallery below.
