El Salvador - Inauguration of Temple dedicated to Holy Family

09 November 2017

(ANS - Santa Ana) - The dream of building a temple for the “San José” Salesian Institute in Santa Ana, El Salvador, was born in 2001, but resources were initially insufficient. On January 31, 2016, the dream began to materialize with the laying of the first stone with images of Mary Help of Christians, Don Bosco and the children of the 2016 graduating class placed. Last October 14 , with great joy, the temple was inaugurated and blessed by Msgr Óscar Julio Vian Morales, SDB, archbishop of Santiago de Guatemala, during a solemn Eucharist with hundreds of people participating.

The temple measures 3,300 square meters and accommodates up to 1,080 seated people. In the temple are representations of the Risen Christ, the Holy Family, Mary Help of Christians, Don Bosco and Saint Anna. The altar features a marble base and an ample table consisting of a single large piece of wood.

Outside the temple, the lobby forms a large square, with the façade culminating in two wings to represent the all-embracing arms of God, open to all who enter His home.

The entrance is at the façade's center, and represents God the Father; in the windows over the entrance is the Cross, a sign of God the Son, while the arch spans wide to symbolize the Holy Spirit descending on the faithful gathered in the temple.

Once inside, there is a sort of anteroom; at its center, the baptismal font with the image of the Holy Family at its base: a way to indicate that upon receiving Baptism the person becomes a part of the family of God.

Proceeding in the temple one finds the large statue of the Risen Christ, which expresses victory over death and represents Salvation.

A large crosses rises next to the temple; from its 30 meters in height, the cross announces the sacred site of the Temple of the Holy Family and represents the lighthouse that illuminates all of humankind with the light of hope.

The temple's purpose is that of animating family pastoral in the western part of the country. At the service of the Salesian Institute "San José", it is, of course, open to serving all the people of God.

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