Cebu City Philippines Temple: What Visitors Can See, the Chapel Next Door, and the Statue That Turned
The white spire on Gorordo Avenue in Lahug is the Cebu City Philippines Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated in 2010. Visitors can admire it from outside, but only Church members with a recommend may go in, and there is no visitors’ center. The chapel beside it is a separate building, and its Sunday worship is open to anyone.
Cebu City Philippines Temple · Gorordo Avenue, Lahug, Cebu City · 10.3275° N, 123.8983° E (Wikipedia) · Checked 31 October 2026
Lahug · Cebu City
What you can and cannot visit
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Members only inside
The Cebu City Philippines Temple was dedicated on 13 June 2010 by Thomas S. Monson and stands 140 feet to the top. After the 2010 open house closed, only Church members with a recommend may go inside. There is no visitors’ center.
Open on Sundays
The chapel beside the temple is a separate building, and Sunday worship there is open to anyone. The Church’s Sunday block is two hours; ward start times are on its meetinghouse locator, not posted here.
Turned by the 2013 quake
The gold statue on the spire was hoisted on 5 November 2009. The October 2013 Bohol earthquake rotated it to face south, and it was turned back east on 22 January 2014.
11.6 acres on Gorordo
The campus on Gorordo Avenue in Lahug covers 11.6 acres: the temple, the chapel, patron housing with a family history center, and two residences. Accounts of the construction say excavation found Second World War tunnels and unexploded bombs.
Cebu was the second
Cebu was the second temple in the Philippines and the first in the Visayas. Urdaneta followed in 2024, then Alabang, Davao and Bacolod in 2026, so members around Bacolod now have a temple closer to home.
Church Newsroom (2010); Church News (Jun 2010, Aug 2025, May 2026); Philstar (May 2010); ChurchofJesusChrist.org; Wikipedia. Checked 31 October 2026.
Can you go inside?
Not the temple. After the 2010 open house closed, entry became limited to members holding a recommend from their leaders. That open house, from 21 May to 5 June 2010, drew about 45,000 visitors; it was the one chance for the public to walk through. The meetinghouse is different. Anyone can attend Sunday services there. The Church’s Sunday block is two hours, and ward start times are on its online meetinghouse locator.
Suroy.ph found no official statement on whether the temple grounds are open to non-members for photographs. Ask temple staff before walking in.
The temple, in numbers
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Announced | 18 April 2006 |
| Groundbreaking | 14 November 2007, by Elder Dallin H. Oaks |
| Dedicated | 13 June 2010, by President Thomas S. Monson |
| Height | 140 feet to the top |
| Site | 11.6 acres |
| Floor area | 29,556 square feet |
| Stone | Gray granite from China outside; Greek marble in the sealing and celestial rooms |
It was the second temple in the Philippines after Manila and the first in the Visayas. Accounts of the construction say the site was a Japanese stronghold in the Second World War, and that excavation turned up tunnels and unexploded bombs, removed before the ground was filled with concrete.
The statue that turned
The gold statue on the spire, the angel Moroni of Latter-day Saint belief, was hoisted on 5 November 2009. The Bohol earthquake of October 2013 rotated it to face south, and it was turned back to face east on 22 January 2014.
One of six now
Church News reported that youth trips from the Bacolod area to this temple used to take up to ten hours or more one way. The Philippines now has six temples: Manila (1984), Cebu City (2010), Urdaneta (2024), and Alabang, Davao and Bacolod, all dedicated in 2026. The campus also holds the chapel, patron housing with a family history center, and residences.
Getting there
The temple faces Gorordo Avenue in Lahug. Jeepneys 04L, 04B and 17B serve Lahug; the Cebu City jeepney guide has the routes. Up the hill in Beverly Hills is the Cebu Taoist Temple, and in Kamputhaw, off Gorordo, is the Molave Community Marketplace; check its page for current dates.
A quiet campus in the middle of Lahug traffic. The Peace tee is for that kind of calm.
Suroy Wear · Statement Series
Frequently asked questions
Can non-members enter the LDS temple in Cebu?
No. Only Church members with a recommend may enter. The chapel next door is open to all for Sunday services.
Is there a visitors’ center?
No.
When was the Cebu City Philippines Temple dedicated?
On 13 June 2010, by Thomas S. Monson.
How tall is the temple?
140 feet to the top.
Where is it?
On Gorordo Avenue in Lahug, Cebu City.
Sources: Church Newsroom, Cebu City Philippines Temple facts (2010); Church News (19 June 2010, 11 August 2025, 31 May 2026, 25 January 2026); Philstar (18 May 2010); ChurchofJesusChrist.org temple page; ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org; Wikipedia. Photographs by Suroy.ph, frames filed 30 June 2024. Checked 31 October 2026.
