Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Groundbreaking Ceremony

Elder Carlos A. Godoy, President of the Africa South Area, presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cape Town South Africa Temple on Saturday, October 25, 2025. "We are especially grateful, Father, for the holy temples which are Thy houses among us, where heaven and earth meet," he said in his site dedicatory prayer. "May this holy house stand as a light upon a hill, a place of peace, reverence and inspiration for all who come near." The soil was turned inside of a mound bordered with white stones, each inscribed with the names of Primary children from the Bellville and Cape Town stakes.¹

Temple Design

Plans for the Cape Town South Africa Temple call for a single-story building of approximately 9,500 square feet. A meetinghouse and arrival center will also be constructed on site.

Temple Rendering

On December 7, 2021, the official exterior rendering of the Cape Town South Africa Temple was released.

Temple Site

On December 7, 2021, the location of the Cape Town South Africa Temple was announced as a 3.79-acre site by the mission office at 3 Liesbeek Road in the Observatory neighborhood of Cape Town.

Temple Announcement

On April 4, 2021, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Cape Town South Africa Temple at the 191st Annual General Conference. About 69,000 Latter-day Saints worship in around 195 congregations in South Africa. Cape Town is located on the shore of Table Bay. This will be the third temple in the country. The other temples in South Africa are the Johannesburg South Africa Temple and the Durban South Africa Temple. The first missionaries arrived in South Africa in 1853, and the first meetinghouse was built in Mowbray in 1916.²

Temple Facts

The Cape Town South Africa Temple will be the third temple built in South Africa, following the Johannesburg South Africa Temple (1985) and the Durban South Africa Temple (2020).