Open House Begins for Praia Cape Verde Temple

The Praia Cape Verde Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens its doors to the public beginning this week.

The new temple is in the city of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, a small island nation located 350 miles off the coast of West Africa. This is the first temple in the country, which is also known as the Republic of Cabo Verde.

The public open house will be held Saturday, May 21, 2022, through Saturday, June 11, 2022, except for Sundays (May 22, 29 and June 5, 2022).

Latter-day Saint youth will gather in a nearby Church meetinghouse for a devotional the evening prior to the dedication, on Saturday, June 18, 2022.

The Praia Cape Verde Temple will be dedicated the next day, Sunday, June 19, 2022, in three sessions: 9 a.m., 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication.

Elder Gary B. Sabin, assistant executive director of the Temple Department, will be presiding at the open house’s Invited Guests events. He will be accompanied by Elder Rubén V. Alliaud of the Europe Central Area Presidency

Temple Features

The nearly 8,800-square-foot (813.7-square-meters) temple was built on 4.46 acres of land on the southern portion of Santiago Island in the city of Praia. The temple is surrounded by tranquil gardens featuring a wide variety of plants, including shade trees, palms and hundreds of flowering shrubs, selected not only for their beauty but also for their environmental fit. A meetinghouse was also built on the temple site.

This single-story temple stands at about 80 feet (24.4 meters) in height, including the spire. The building’s understated, clean look reflects local architectural styles and features moleanos limestone from Portugal in the exterior finish.

There are currently 282 temples of the Church of Jesus Christ that are announced, operating or under construction worldwide.

Ground was broken for the temple in May 2019. The temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson in the October 2018 general conference.

The Praia Cape Verde Temple will serve the more than 15,000 members of the Church who call Cape Verde home. Missionary work officially began in Cape Verde in 1988, which resulted in the creation of the Praia Branch a short time later. Today, Cape Verde has four stakes, one district, and over 40 congregations. The Cape Verde Praia mission was created in 2002. More than 150 natural-born Cape Verde members have served full-time missions in areas throughout the world.

Latter-day Saints consider temples to be the house of the Lord and the most sacred places of worship on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples, however, is for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ to participate in sacred ceremonies, such as marriages, which unite families forever, and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity to be baptized while living.