The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released upcoming groundbreaking dates for three temples — two in the West African nation of Nigeria and one for the South American country of Chile.
The first groundbreaking will be on the last Saturday in November, with the other two a week later, on the first Saturday of December.
Groundbreaking services for the Eket Nigeria Temple are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 28, to be presided over by Elder D. Martin Goury, a General Authority Seventy and member of the Africa West Area presidency.
On Saturday, Dec. 5, ground will be broken for the Calabar Nigeria Temple, with Elder Christian C. Chigbundu, a General Authority Seventy and member of the Africa West Area presidency, to preside at that event. Later that same day, a groundbreaking is scheduled for the Viña del Mar Chile Temple, and Elder Sergio R. Vargas, a General Authority Seventy and member of the South America South Area presidency, will preside at that ceremony.
The three groundbreaking dates were first reported Monday, Oct. 12, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Exterior renderings for the Eket and Viña del Mar temples, which had not been published previously, were also released Monday.
Eket Nigeria Temple
On Oct. 2, 2022, then-President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for Eket, Nigeria, during the October 2022 general conference.
Eket’s temple site was announced April 22, 2025. According to the location map, this house of the Lord will be built on a 7-acre site on Eket/Oron Road in Ikot Ibiok, Eket Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Plans call for a one-story structure of approximately 18,850 square feet, with a meetinghouse on the site.
An exterior rendering of the Eket temple was released in conjunction with the groundbreaking date announcement.
Calabar Nigeria Temple
On Oct. 1, 2023, President Nelson announced a house of the Lord for Calabar, Nigeria. It was one of 20 temple locations he identified during October 2023 general conference, alongside three other Africa temples.
The Calabar temple’s site location and exterior rendering were both released Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.
Plans for the Calabar temple call for a single-story building of approximately 26,000 square feet. It will be built at Atekong Drive, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria; patron housing, arrival facilities and a meetinghouse are also planned for the 7-acre site.
Church and its temples in Nigeria
The Church of Jesus Christ was officially established in Nigeria in 1978. Less than 10 years later, membership approached 10,000 in 1987. Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles organized the Aba Nigeria Stake on May 15, 1988, the first in West Africa.
By the time of the Aba Nigeria Temple dedication in 2005, an estimated 70,000 Church members lived in the country. Today, more than 274,000 Latter-day Saints live in Nigeria and worship among the 880 congregations.
The country has seven total temples in various stages, but only the one — in Aba — is dedicated and operating. Two temples in Nigeria — in Lagos and Benin City — have been under construction since their May 2025 groundbreakings. The Eket and Calabar will be two additional houses of the Lord being built following their respective groundbreakings.
The two other temples are in planning and design — for Abuja (announced in 2024) and Uyo (2025).
Viña del Mar Chile Temple
President Nelson announced a temple for Viña del Mar during the October 2023 general conference, one of 20 temple locations identified on Oct. 1. The site location of the temple was released a month later, on Nov. 6, 2023.
Projected to be approximately 30,000 square feet, the Viña del Mar temple will be built on a 1.87-acre site between 3rd Norte and 4th Norte streets near 4 1/2 Oeste Street in Viña del Mar, Valparaiso, Chile. A stake center for the Viña del Mar Chile Stake currently sits at Tres Norte 1105 on the site.
Along with the groundbreaking date, an exterior rendering of the Viña del Mar temple was also released Monday.
The Church and its temples in Chile
Chile is home to more than 624,000 Church members, approximately 580 congregations and six total temples in the country. Half of the six temples are dedicated and operating — the Santiago Chile Temple (dedicated in 1983), the Concepción Chile Temple (2018) and the Antofagasta Chile Temple (2025).
Following its Dec. 5 groundbreaking, the Viña del Mar temple will be the second under construction in the country, joining the Santiago West Chile Temple, which had its groundbreaking in August 2024. The sixth temple is the Puerto Montt Chile Temple, which was announced in 2024 and has a site location identified.
