Puerto Rico: Church Chronology

1940s • Puerto RicoSmall groups of Latter-day Saint American servicemen stationed in Puerto Rico held Church meetings together in members’ homes.

August 2, 1953 • San Juan, Puerto RicoThe first Sunday School and sacrament meetings in San Juan were held at the Fort Buchanan military chapel, with 18 in attendance.

May 1955 • Aguadilla and San Juan, Puerto RicoThe Ramey Branch was organized at Ramey Air Force Base, with Nile A. Sorenson as president, and the San Juan Branch was organized, with Alan L. Peterson as president.

October 7, 1956 • San JuanMaría Cristina Burk and Irma Haws became the first native Puerto Ricans to be baptized in Puerto Rico.

November 1963 • San JuanA Spanish Sunday School class was created in the San Juan Branch.

January 1964 • San JuanEnglish-speaking missionaries Verl Tolbert and Dwight K. Hunter, sent from the Florida Mission, became the first missionaries assigned to labor in Puerto Rico.

January 12, 1964 • San JuanThe Caribbean District was organized, with Gardner H. Russell as president.

March 2, 1964 • San JuanIlka Frau became the first Puerto Rican convert baptized by the full-time missionaries in Puerto Rico.

Winders and President Russell with mayor of San Juan

April 10, 1964 • San Juan

Ned and Gwen Winder, who were presiding over the Florida Mission, and Gardner Russell, Caribbean District president, presented a bound picture history of the Church to Doña Felisa Rincón de Gautier, mayor of San Juan. They also met with and gave a copy of the book to Governor Luis Muñoz Marín.

September 7, 1968 • Bayamón, Puerto RicoThe groundbreaking for the Jardines de Caparra chapel, the first Church meetinghouse in the Caribbean District, was held.

November 10, 1968 • San JuanMable G. Franklin became the first Relief Society president of the Caribbean District.

1969 • Puerto RicoThe first Spanish-speaking missionaries were sent to Puerto Rico.

September 21, 1969 • Ponce, Puerto Rico The Ponce Branch was organized, with Gordon Bingham as president.

March 8, 1970 • BayamónThe Jardines de Caparra meetinghouse, the first Church-built meetinghouse in Puerto Rico, was dedicated.

April 19, 1970 • BayamónThe San Juan Spanish Branch was organized, with Manuel Chavez as president.

October 1970 • San JuanThe home-study seminary program was introduced in Puerto Rico. The first district seminary meeting was held on November 21.

November 22, 1970 • BayamónThe Caribbean District conference included a session in Spanish.

1971 • Puerto RicoSpanish-speaking branches were organized in Mayagüez, Caguas, and Arecibo.

1975 • Carolina, Puerto RicoThe Carolina Branch was organized, with Gilberto Rodriguez as president.

November 20, 1977 • San JuanThe first all–Puerto Rican district presidency was sustained, with José Jiménez as president.

June 11, 1978 • San JuanJosé Ramón Díaz became the first Puerto Rican with African ancestry to be ordained to the priesthood.

July 7, 1979 • San JuanThe Puerto Rico San Juan Mission was created.

July 29, 1979 • Caguas, Puerto RicoOn a site that had been carefully prepared by the Caguas Branch, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the island for the preaching of the gospel. Close to 800 people attended.

December 14, 1980 • San JuanThe San Juan Puerto Rico Stake was organized, with Herminio de Jesús as president and Marcia de Gonzalez Chavez as stake Relief Society president.

December 14, 1980 • Puerto RicoThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Corporation was formally organized in Puerto Rico and registered with the State Department.

President Kimball greeting Saints in Puerto Rico

March 8, 1981 • San Juan

President Spencer W. Kimball met with Puerto Rican members. This was the first time a Church President visited the island.

1982–1985 • Puerto RicoThree new stakes were organized in Ponce (1982), Carolina (1984), and Mayagüez (1985).

September 1989 • Puerto RicoHurricane Hugo crashed into the northern tip of Puerto Rico with winds of 140 mph (225 km/h). Interest in the Church increased as Puerto Ricans observed members and missionaries helping each other and the community.

December 1993 • Puerto Rico The San Juan, Carolina, Ponce, and Mayagüez stakes were dissolved and divided into eight districts.

June 30, 1995 • Puerto RicoJesús Nieves became the first Puerto Rican president of the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission.

August 11, 1996 • Puerto RicoThe Mayagüez stake was restored after two years and eight months as a district. Within a year, the Ponce stake (September 22, 1996) and San Juan stake (May 4, 1997) were also restored.

April 1998 • Salt Lake City, UtahJesús Nieves was called as an Area Seventy.

June 7, 1998 • Toa Baja, Puerto RicoThe Toa Baja stake was created, with Jorge M. Alvarado as president.

September 17, 2000 • Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicChurch President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple, the first temple in the Caribbean.

February 26, 2006 • CaguasThe Caguas stake was created, with José Santos as president.

2008 • Arecibo, Puerto RicoConjunto de Campanas Jóvenes de Sión (Youth of Zion Bell Choir) was created. Organized by Nuria Álvarez de Martínez, the group of Latter-day Saint youth between the ages of 8 and 18 has performed in firesides and concerts around the Caribbean.

April 5, 2014 • Salt Lake City, UtahElder Hugo E. Martinez was called as a General Authority Seventy, becoming the first General Authority from the Caribbean. That October he became the first Puerto Rican to speak in general conference, delivering his address in Spanish.

September 2017 • Puerto RicoHurricane Irma, a category 5 storm with 185 mph (298 km/h) winds, skirted the northeast coast of Puerto Rico on September 6, causing significant damage. Two weeks later, Hurricane Maria, a high-end category 4 storm, swept across the island.

September 2, 2018 • San JuanChurch President Russell M. Nelson met with the Saints in Puerto Rico in a special devotional to provide encouragement following the hurricanes of the previous year. He gave part of his address in Spanish.

October 7, 2018 • Salt Lake CityThe construction of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple was announced by President Russell M. Nelson in general conference.

May 4, 2019 • Trujillo Alto, Puerto RicoThe groundbreaking ceremony for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple was held.

January 7, 2020 • Puerto RicoA 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook the island, causing severe damage to homes and other buildings that affected many, including Latter-day Saints. Aftershocks, many of magnitudes greater than 5.0, continued for months afterward. Puerto Rican Latter-day Saints joined efforts to comfort and provide relief to those affected.