Where It’s Located
The Urdaneta Philippines Temple is located along MacArthur Highway in Barangay Nancayasan, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, Philippines.
Urdaneta is located on the island of Luzon, approximately 100 miles north of Manila. Its position makes it a convenient temple location for Church members throughout much of Northern Luzon.
The temple district currently includes members from 40 stakes and 9 districts throughout Northern Luzon, including communities such as Baguio, Dagupan, Laoag, Tuguegarao, Urdaneta, and Vigan.
The Temple Announcement
The Urdaneta Philippines Temple was announced by Church President Thomas S. Monson during the October 2010 General Conference. The announcement came as the Church continued to grow rapidly throughout the Philippines.
At the time, the Manila Philippines Temple was serving members across a large portion of the country. The new Urdaneta temple would provide a more accessible temple for members living throughout Northern Luzon.
The temple was initially announced as the third temple in the Philippines, following the Manila Philippines Temple, dedicated in 1984, and the Cebu City Philippines Temple, dedicated in 2010.
From Announcement to Groundbreaking
Nearly nine years passed between the temple's announcement and its groundbreaking.
The groundbreaking and site dedication took place on January 16, 2019, with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presiding.
The ceremony marked the beginning of construction on a project that had been anticipated by Church members in Northern Luzon for years.
The temple ultimately took more than five years from groundbreaking to dedication. The total period from announcement in October 2010 to dedication in April 2024 was approximately 13 years and six months.
The Temple Site
The Urdaneta Philippines Temple occupies approximately 15.34 acres, or 6.2 hectares, along MacArthur Highway just south of Urdaneta City.
The location places the temple near a major transportation corridor while also providing enough room for extensive landscaping around the building.
The grounds feature gardens, concrete paver walkways, local flowers, and rows of palm trees leading toward the temple from the highway. Large acacia trees provide a natural boundary around portions of the property.
Architecture and Design
One of the most distinctive aspects of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple is the way its design incorporates elements of Filipino architecture and culture.
The exterior is finished with golden sand granite sourced from China. The warm-colored stone gives the temple a distinctive appearance against the lush green landscape of the Philippines.
The temple features a single attached end spire topped with an angel Moroni statue. The building rises approximately 136 feet, or 41.5 meters, above the ground.
The architects drew inspiration from Spanish colonial buildings found throughout the Philippines. Rounded corners and decorative details help connect the temple's appearance with the country's architectural history.
At the same time, the design incorporates Asian influences. Mango-shaped details appear around portions of the building, while other decorative elements reflect Filipino traditions.
The Sampaguita Flower
The sampaguita flower is one of the most recognizable design themes throughout the temple.
Sampaguita, a variety of jasmine, is the national flower of the Philippines. The temple incorporates sampaguita motifs into its exterior and interior design.
The flower carries cultural associations with purity, simplicity, humility, and strength. Its inclusion gives the building a distinctly Filipino character rather than simply reproducing a generic temple design.
The Temple Windows
The Urdaneta temple also features distinctive art glass.
The windows use shades of gold, pink, purple, and green. Their designs incorporate sampaguita flowers arranged in bouquets.
White iridescent glass was used for the flowers, creating purple and green reflections when viewed from inside the building. The effect was designed to resemble the pearlescent appearance of shells traditionally used in windows of Filipino ancestral homes.
The glasswork was created by ETZU, an Indonesian company.
Interior Design
The Filipino and Asian influences continue inside the temple.
The floors use honey-gold tile sourced from Israel and Palestine, while the temple's doors and millwork are made from stained African mahogany fabricated in the Philippines.
Furniture throughout the temple was produced by Theodore Alexander in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, while other materials and furnishings came from countries including Thailand, Italy, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and the United States.
The baptistry includes blue and green mosaic tile from Italy, and the celestial room features a custom chandelier and decorative elements designed specifically for the temple.
Original Artwork
The temple contains four original paintings:
- Continually Flowing by Jason Rich
- Triumphal Entry by Albin Veselka
- Llocos Fields by Kimbal Warren
- Wings of Morning by Elspeth Young
Together, the artwork contributes to the peaceful and nature-focused atmosphere of the temple interior.
Temple Ordinance Rooms
The Urdaneta Philippines Temple contains two instruction rooms, three sealing rooms, and one baptistry.
The temple has approximately 32,604 square feet of floor area, or about 3,029 square meters.
The building also includes patron housing and an arrival center, while a distribution center is located on the site. There is no visitors' center open to the general public.
Public Open House
Before the temple was dedicated, the public was given an opportunity to tour the building.
The public open house was held in March 2024, following media and invited-guest tours earlier that month. Thousands of people were able to see the interior of the temple before it became a functioning temple.
The open house provided an opportunity for people of different backgrounds and faiths to learn about the purpose and design of the building.
Temple Dedication
The Urdaneta Philippines Temple was dedicated on April 28, 2024, by President Dallin H. Oaks, then First Counselor in the First Presidency.
Two dedicatory sessions were held that day and were broadcast to congregations throughout the temple district.
With its dedication, the Urdaneta Philippines Temple officially became a functioning temple and began serving Latter-day Saints throughout Northern Luzon.
The Church in the Philippines
The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines stretches back to the 1940s.
Aniceta Fajardo became the first Filipino known to join the Church in 1946 after being introduced to Latter-day Saint teachings by American servicemen stationed in the Philippines during World War II.
Missionary work began in earnest in 1961, after which Church membership grew rapidly.
By the end of the 1960s, the Church had established a presence on eight major Philippine islands. The first stake in the country was organized in Manila in 1974, and the Manila Philippines Temple was dedicated in 1984.
A Growing Temple Presence
The Urdaneta temple was once only the third temple in the Philippines. Today, the country's temple network is considerably larger.
As of 2026, the Philippines has 14 temples in various stages of operation, construction, or development. In addition to operating temples in Manila, Cebu City, Urdaneta, Alabang, Davao, and Bacolod, other temples are under construction or have been announced in locations including Cagayan de Oro, Tacloban City, Naga, Tuguegarao City, Santiago, Iloilo, Laoag, and San Jose del Monte.
This expansion reflects the continued growth of the Church in the Philippines and the effort to place temples within easier reach of members throughout the country's many islands.
Visiting Urdaneta City
For visitors traveling to the Urdaneta area, the temple provides an opportunity to experience a part of Northern Luzon outside the country's major metropolitan centers.
Urdaneta is situated in Pangasinan, a province known for its agricultural communities and access to several destinations throughout northern Luzon. Travelers visiting the temple can also explore the surrounding region and experience Filipino culture, food, and countryside.
Because the temple itself is a functioning temple, access to the interior is reserved for Latter-day Saints who meet the Church's requirements for temple worship. Visitors who are not eligible to enter can still appreciate the exterior architecture and landscaped grounds from designated public areas.
A Temple Designed for the Philippines
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple is how specifically its design reflects its location.
The golden granite, rounded Spanish-colonial-inspired forms, mango motifs, sampaguita flowers, tropical landscaping, and Filipino-inspired art glass combine to create a temple that looks at home in Northern Luzon.
Rather than simply placing a standard building design in the Philippines, the project incorporated cultural and architectural elements that connect the temple to the country and its people.
A Temple for Northern Luzon
The Urdaneta Philippines Temple is more than a prominent building along MacArthur Highway. It represents an important milestone in the history of the Church in Northern Luzon.
For many years, members in the region had traveled significant distances to reach the Manila Philippines Temple. The Urdaneta temple created a temple destination much closer to communities throughout the northern part of Luzon.
Today, the temple serves a district made up of dozens of stakes and districts across Northern Luzon, making it an important part of religious life for thousands of Latter-day Saints in the region.
Final Thoughts
The Urdaneta Philippines Temple combines religious significance, Filipino culture, and distinctive architecture in one of Northern Luzon's most recognizable Latter-day Saint buildings.
Announced in 2010, groundbreaking in 2019, and dedicated in 2024, the temple represents more than a decade of development from announcement to completion. Its design incorporates Filipino cultural elements such as the sampaguita flower and mango motifs while drawing from Spanish colonial architecture and Asian artistic traditions.
As the Philippines continues to see additional temples announced, constructed, and dedicated, the Urdaneta Philippines Temple remains an important part of the country's growing temple network and the history of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines.
Scott & Riah
Brough Made
broughmade.com
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