Groundbreaking date for Winchester Virginia Temple, dedication of Antofagasta Chile Temple announced

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday the groundbreaking date for the Winchester Virginia Temple and the dedication of the Antofagasta Chile Temple.

The groundbreaking for the Winchester Virginia Temple will take place on Saturday, August 9.

The Antofagasta Chile Temple was dedicated on Sunday, June 15 by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Winchester Virginia Temple

The Winchester Virginia Temple was announced during the August 2023 general conference. It will be built on an 11.27-acre site located at 200 Merrimans Lane in Winchester, Virginia.

According to plans, it will be a single-story temple and roughly 30,000 square feet.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced in a press release that groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Saturday, August 9, and Elder Robert M. Daines, Second Counselor in the North America Northeast Area Presidency, will preside over the event.

According to the Church, there are more than 100,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 210 congregations in the state of Virginia. The Winchester Virginia Temple will be the fourth temple in the state.

Antofagasta Chile Temple

The Antofagasta Chile Temple was announced by Church President Russel M. Nelson during the April 2019 general conference.

The dedication for the temple took place Sunday, June 15. It was dedicated by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, according to a news release from the Church.

Elder Stevenson was accompanied by his wife Lesa, as well as Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, his wife Nancy, and Elder Eduardo Gavarret, General Authority Seventy and Second Counselor in the South America South Area Presidency, and his wife Norma.

President David A. Reyes Torres, the president of the Antofagasta Chile La Portada Stake, also attended the dedication.

This temple is the 207th dedicated temple globally and the third in Chile. Three more temples have been announced to be constructed in Chile.