SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement Thursday regarding the construction of the Rome Italy Temple.

"In recent months, progress on the Rome Italy Temple slowed due to contractor difficulties not related to this project," the statement said. "Those challenges have been addressed and work will soon resume at a normal pace. No dates have been announced for completion. We are grateful that our members have extended their faith and prayers and sought heaven's help in seeing this important project through to completion."

Reports of local church members praying and fasting over the temple's progress began appearing on social media and ldschurchtemples.com, a site not owned or operated by the LDS Church, in September 2014.

The construction of the Rome Italy Temple was announced by President Thomas S. Monson on Oct. 4, 2008, during general conference. The temple site was dedicated by President Monson on Oct. 23, 2010. The Rome Temple will be the first LDS temple in Italy and the 12th temple in Europe. There are more than 25,000 members of the LDS Church in Italy, with seven stakes and two missions. Construction plans for the Rome Italy Temple site include a temple, a multifunctional meetinghouse, a visitors' center, a Family History Center and patron housing.

Shortly after ground was broken for the temple, Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno visited the temple site with Elder José Teixeira of the Quorum of the Seventy. According to a report on the LDS Newsroom website, the mayor “was impressed with the church’s high construction standards and materials.”

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, visited Europe last summer and spent time at the site of the Rome Italy Temple.

“The Rome temple is significant for the church in Italy, not only for its physical presence, but also as a monument to the growth of the church," President Uchtdorf stated. "For centuries, Rome has been the Christian hub throughout the world.”

The LDS Church has 144 operating temples, and the total will be brought to 170 when the temples that have been announced and are under construction are completed.

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