Menu

Groundbreaking date set for Antananarivo Madagascar Temple

Elder Denelson Silva will preside at the March 15 groundbreaking for the first house of the Lord in the island republic

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced a Saturday, March 15, groundbreaking of the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple, the first house of the Lord in the island republic off the southeast coast of Africa.

Elder Denelson Silva, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Africa South Area presidency, will preside at the groundbreaking.

Planned as a single-story temple of approximately 10,000 square feet, the house of the Lord in Antananarivo, Madagascar, will be built on a 9.8-acre site located at Fokontany Andranoro, Ambohibao, Antehiroka, Andranomena, Madagascar. Patron housing and arrival facilities are also planned for the temple grounds.

The site was first announced, Dec. 11, 2023.

A map of the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple site.
A map of the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple site. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

A Church meetinghouse has stood at the temple site, at Lot 208 A, Fokontany Andranoro, Commune Ambohibao, in the locality of Antehiroka in Andranomena. The lot is just west of the RN4 national road along a section known as Lalana Général Andrimahazo in the northwest sector of Antananarivo.

The groundbreaking was first announced Monday, Feb. 3, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. An exterior rendering was released the same day.

President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for Madagascar’s capital city on Oct. 3, 2021, one of 13 temple locations he identified during the final session of the October 2021 general conference.

Madagascar is the world’s fourth-largest island, where more than 15,000 Latter-day Saints reside and comprise four stakes and more than 40 congregations. The Madagascar Antananarivo Mission was formed in 1998, with the Antananarivo Madagascar Stake organized in September 2000.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson and others look over a large field which is the announced site location for the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, third from left, looks over the announced site location for the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple on Monday, May 20, 2024. | Mary Richards, Church News
Related Stories
Antananarivo Madagascar Temple | Church News Almanac
What the Prophet and Apostles have taught about temple covenants
‘The Holy Ghost has told you’: Elder Christofferson invites Madagascar Saints to bear testimony of Jesus Christ to all who will listen
Newsletters
Subscribe for free and get daily or weekly updates straight to your inbox
The three things you need to know everyday
Highlights from the last week to keep you informed