On Saturday, July 9, 2022, Saints in Angola gathered to officially kicked off the construction of the first meetinghouse in Angola.
For the past 37 years, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in Angola have been attending Sunday meetings in borrowed or rented buildings.
Around 60 members of the Church gathered for the first-ever groundbreaking of its kind in Angola. This milestone in the history of the Church was presided over by Elder Amando A. Feijo, Area Seventy who attended with his wife, Sister Dionysia Feijo and was joined by President Nuno Campos -- President of the Luanda Stake -- and President Scott Skyes and Sister Jennifer Sykes, Angola Luanda Mission leaders.
- Members-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints-at-the-historic-groundbreaking-ceremony-for-the-first-chapel-to-be-built-in-Angola-on-July-9,-2022.
- Local-youth-and-full-time-missionaries-participating-in-the-historic-moment-on-July-9,-2022.
- Leaders-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints-at-the-groundbreaking-of-the-Angola-meetinghouse-on-July-9,-2022.
- Elder-Amando-A.-Feijo-and-other-church-leaders-ready-to-turn-over-Angolan-soil-for-their-new-chapel-on-July-9,-2022.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Brother Bernardo Luzitica, who was one of the first of a small group of members of the church in Angola, said that the building of this meetinghouse has great meaning for him. “We should thank Heavenly Father. For a long time, we have waited to have a chapel,” he said. “We should thank Heavenly Father for being the first members and for participating in the first groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of our church.”
Angola has had members of the church living in the country since 1985. The church was officially recognized in 1992 with the first branch organized in 1996 in the capital city of Luanda. In 2010, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated Angola for the preaching of the gospel and eight years later the Luanda Angola Stake was organized.
Today, Angola has over 4,100 members with one stake, eight wards and five branches of the Church. These saints have been faithful and consistently praying for a place of their own to worship.
Local members have long anticipated this day since the building was first announced in 2016. Challenges with local permitting and multiple design changes needed to meet local building codes delayed the start of construction for almost five years.
Brother Vusi Msiza, the construction project manager said, he felt “a lot of pressure to make the project happen because of the excitement and anticipation of the members in Angola”. He said that “without the Lord’s intervention we would not be where we are at today. Without the prayers of church leaders and members in Angola this building would not have been built.”
‘The Chapel will Represent Something Strong’
President Nuno Campos noted the importance of the groundbreaking, saying it is “marking the historical framework of the church in Angola … It is a symbol of the progress of the church here in Angola. It represents something strong, very spiritual and something very important to the members here.”
“We also have doors open to the community. All the people here can join us and worship, get to know God and teach each other words of wisdom and render service in every way necessary, both spiritually and temporally,” said Elder Feijo.
Construction is expected to be completed in July 2023. The building will be the stake center for the Luanda Stake and accommodate three wards. Once completed, the chapel will be used for Sunday worship services, weekday youth activities including religious education classes, , a women’s group meetings and community service in the Luanda area.