Groundbreaking plans are scheduled in August and September for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple and Nairobi Kenya Temple, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced in a news release on Wednesday.
The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple groundbreaking will be held on Saturday, Aug. 21. Elder Randall K. Bennett, a General Authority Seventy and president of the church’s North America Northeast Area, will preside at the ceremony.
The Nairobi Kenya Temple groundbreaking take place on Saturday, Sept. 11. Elder Joseph W. Sitati, a General Authority Seventy and president of the church’s Africa Central Area, will preside at the ceremony.
Attendance at both groundbreaking ceremonies will be by invitation only.
What do we know about the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple?
The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple was announced in April 2020 by President Russell M. Nelson.
Pennsylvania’s second temple will be constructed on a 5.8-acre site located at 2093 Powell Road in Cranberry Township. Plans call for the single-story structure to have approximately 32,000 square feet.
A map shows the location of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
There are more than 52,000 Latter-day Saints living in Pennsylvania, which also has a temple in Philadelphia, according to ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
What do we know about the Nairobi Kenya Temple?
The Nairobi Kenya Temple was announced in April 2017 by President Thomas S. Monson.
The Nairobi temple’s location will be released at a future date, the news release said.
An artist’s rendering of the Nairobi Kenya Temple. The temple’s groundbreaking is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2021.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
There are nearly 15,000 Latter-day Saint attending more than 50 congregations in Kenya. The Nairobi temple will be the country’s first.
President Nelson visited Nairobi in April 2018 as part of a global tour. He also visited Kenya as an apostle in 1992 and 2011. The late President Gordon B. Hinckley was the first church president to visit Kenya on two occasions, in 1998 and 2005.