Construction Begins for Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple

Construction has begun for the Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Ground was broken on the 8.14-acre site at Aldea Romana over Cabrera Avenue on Saturday, April 9, 2022. Several community members, including local civic leaders, attended the special event.

Elder Joaquin E. Costa of the Quorum of the Seventy presided at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“We thank the authorities of the different governments through the many years that the gospel has been shared here. We are grateful for the tolerance and openness to receive missionaries, allow construction and provide a safe environment for the restored Church of Jesus Christ to grow in Bahía Blanca and southern Argentina,” expressed Elder Joaquín E. Costa as part of the dedicatory prayer.

The temple was announced in April 2020 by Church President Russell M. Nelson.

The single-story structure will consist of about 19,000 square feet. A 25,000 square foot ancillary building will include patron housing and a distribution center.

The Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple will be Argentina’s fifth temple, following the Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Salta and Mendoza Temples. Argentina is home to more than 470,000 Latter-day Saints in approximately 735 congregations. More than 40 million people live in Argentina.

Bahía Blanca is a port city in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province. It is located about 400 miles south of Buenos Aires.

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.

Watch a recording of the groundbreaking ceremony in Spanish here.