To be Belgium’s first Latter-day Saint temple, the Brussels Belgium Temple officially entered the construction phase this weekend with a groundbreaking ceremony held Saturday.
This ceremony was presided over by Elder Jack N. Gerard, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Europe Central Area presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But unlike most groundbreaking ceremonies organized by the church, the Brussels temple groundbreaking ceremony did not include a traditional turning of the soil, seeing as the temple will be built within an existing multistory building.
Still, church members and leaders, along with dignitaries and media representatives, gathered Saturday to honor the start of the temple’s construction inside the existing building. Others joined the ceremony virtually via a broadcast that was streamed in five languages: English, French, Dutch, German and Spanish.
“Belgium is a gathering place,” said Elder Gerard, as he offered a prayer dedicating the building and site for construction. “It is a place where different peoples, cultures and languages are welcomed, and collective interests are considered for the betterment of humankind.”
Brussels — the headquarters of the European Union, he continued, is a city “where many of thy children from various lands come together in union to find peace, prosperity and understanding in this world.
“Today, Father, we dedicate this site for a higher purpose. We ask thee to bless it as a place where thy children, regardless of their culture or language, will find union with thee through the sacred ordinances of the temple.”
In his prayer and preceding message, Elder Gerard expressed gratitude for the gospel, the blessings of temple worship and those who helped build the church in Belgium. He also prayed for the rising generation and the temple’s construction workers, and pleaded that the temple will become a place of learning and refuge.
“Bless that the Brussels Belgium Temple will become a beacon of hope and will serve as a reminder of a higher union with thee,” he prayed, “a union that spans eternity and allows thy children to fulfill the measure of their creation.”
First announced in April 2021 by then-church President Russell M. Nelson, the Brussels Belgium Temple will be a multistory edifice of approximately 25,500 square feet.
It will be built within an existing building at Avenue des Arts 52 in Brussels, Belgium, and will be accompanied by an adjoining meetinghouse and arrival facilities.
A Church News report states that, though uncommon, “a handful of other Latter-day Saint temples have been built from existing buildings.” These include the Manhattan New York, Vernal Utah Temple and Copenhagen Denmark temples.
To be the first Latter-day Saint temple in Belgium, the Brussels temple will serve the nearly 7,000 members that reside in the European country, as well as those living in neighboring countries. See a list of what other temples will be the first in their countries here.
