Groundbreaking Ceremony

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. Attendance at the temple site will be by invitation, but the service will be streamed to Facebook Live and broadcast at designated Church meetinghouses throughout the Philippines.1

Construction Status

The general contractor has erected a construction barrier around the property as crews prepare the swampy ground for the groundbreaking ceremony and full-scale operations.

Temple Rendering

The official rendering of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple was released to the public on November 19, 2018.

Temple Site

The site selected for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple sits off the MacArthur Highway just south of Urdaneta City.

Temple Announcement

During his opening remarks at the Saturday morning session of the 180th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Thomas S. Monson announced the construction of a temple in Urdaneta City, Philippines.2 Located approximately 100 miles north of Manila on the island of Luzon—the largest and most populated island in the Philippines—the Urdaneta Philippines Temple will help serve the over 100 stakes and districts in the Luzon Island Group currently served by the Manila Philippines Temple.

In June 2011, the Philippines Baguio Mission was relocated to Urdaneta City, which offered a more central and accessible location for the members and missionaries of the mission. Ground was broken in September 2010 for the new mission home and office, which are located next to the recently remodeled and expanded Urdaneta Philippines Stake Center. In June 2013, the Philippines Urdaneta Mission was created from the Philippines Baguio Mission so that missions are now headquartered in both cities.

Temple Facts

The Urdaneta Philippines Temple will be the third temple built in the Philippines, following the Manila Philippines Temple (1984) and the Cebu City Philippines Temple (2010).