Santiago West Chile Temple
Grand Rapids Michigan Temple
Tarawa Kiribati Temple
Groundbreaking ceremony held on 2 November 2024; full-scale construction pending
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Announcement:
4 October 2020Groundbreaking and Site Dedication:
2 November 2024 by Jeremy R. JaggiSite:
0.8 acres | 0.3 hectaresArchitectural Features:
Single attached end spireOrdinance Rooms:
One instruction room, one sealing room, and one baptistryTotal Floor Area:
10,000 square feet | 929 square metersElevation:
25 feet | 8 metersGroundbreaking Ceremony
"Today’s breaking of the ground is symbolic of planting a giant coconut or breadfruit seed. It will produce the greatest harvest we have seen or can conceive for generations to come," said Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi, General Authority Seventy, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tarawa Kiribati Temple on Saturday, November 2, 2024. He warmly greeted His Excellency Taneti Maamau, President of Kiribati and First Lady Madam Teiraeng Maamau who were in attendance. The proceedings were broadcast live to meetinghouses, allowing all members to participate. Elder Jaggi promised, "The temple that will be built in this spot will provide great protection from the storms of life."1
Temple Design
Plans for the Tarawa Kiribati Temple call for a single-story building of approximately 10,000 square feet with a single spire. Additional ancillary facilities will be located 450 meters west of the temple site. Plans for a meetinghouse and patron housing facility are in development.
Temple Rendering
On May 19, 2021, an official exterior rendering was released for the Tarawa Kiribati Temple.
Temple Site
On May 19, 2021, the location of the Tarawa Kiribati Temple was announced as a 0.80-acre site located at Ambo, South Tarawa, Kiribati. It will stand across from the Kiribati House of Parliament.2
Temple Announcement
In the final session of the 190th Semiannual General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Tarawa Kiribati Temple. Kiribati is a nation comprised of 32 atolls and one island with half of the population living on Tarawa atoll where Church-operated Moroni High School is located. There are nearly 21,000 Kiribatian Latter-day Saints, approximately one-sixth of the population, belonging to two stakes and three districts. The Saints of Kiribati currently travel well over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to participate in ordinance work at the Suva Fiji Temple.3
Temple Facts
The Tarawa Kiribati Temple will be the first temple built in Kiribati and the second built in Micronesia, following the Yigo Guam Temple (2021).
- "Ground Broken for Tarawa Kiribati Temple," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 4 Nov. 2024.
- "New Temple Site Locations Announced for Two Temples to Be Built in Oceania," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 19 May 2021.
- "Prophet Announces Six New Temples at October 2020 General Conference," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 4 Oct. 2020.
