CRANBERRY TWP — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will break ground on its Cranberry-based temple in late August.

The church's First Presidency announced Wednesday plans to break ground on the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple, located in Cranberry Township, on Aug. 21. The temple, which was announced by the church in January, will be on a roughly six-acre parcel on Powell Road.

Temples are distinct from meetinghouses, because they are reserved for faithful members of the church, whereas meetinghouses are open to the public, regardless of religious affiliation. Moreover, while meetinghouses are open for Sunday services and activities throughout the week, temples are considered sacred places of worship.

There are three Latter-day Saints meetinghouses in Butler County, but the temple will be the first in Western Pennsylvania and one of roughly 80 in the U.S. The church has more than 250 temples worldwide that have been constructed or announced.

In addition to the approximately 2,800 Latter-day Saints who live in the Pittsburgh North Stake — which stretches from just outside Pittsburgh to near Knox, Clarion County, and is one of three in the Pittsburgh area — the temple will serve various other stakes. Pennsylvania alone is home to 108 congregations and more than 52,000 church members.

The temple is planned to be a single-story structure of about 32,000 square feet, along with a center spire.

Elder Randall K. Bennett of the Quorum of the Seventy will preside at the event, which will be by invitation only. For those not invited, a broadcast will be provided for those in the temple area.