The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Poised to Establish Presence in Seychelles

On October 29, 2025, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with the vice president of the Republic of Seychelles. This marks what appears to be the first visit of an apostle to the island nation of Seychelles which is inhabited by approximately 100,000 people. The Church has never maintained an official presence in Seychelles. In 2018, the country was placed under the Africa Southeast Area, and in 2020 it was reassigned to the newly created Africa Central Area. However, it has not yet been assigned to any specific mission. In 1988, there were approximately 20 Seychellois worldwide. Nine-tenths of the population is Christian. There are no recent concerns with restrictions on religious freedom. To register with the government, a religious group must have at least seven members. The Church Newsroom on Facebook noted that a "small group" of Latter-day Saints currently lives in the Seychelles. Elder Rasband participated in a sacrament meeting service with Seychellois Latter-day Saints, and he reported that the Church is ready to "launch forth" in the Seychelles. It appears that a small member group operates in the capital city of Victoria under the direct supervision of the Africa Central Area. It is likely that Seychelles will be assigned to a mission to oversee Church operations and missionary work. Given economic ties and significant resources, it is probable that one of the two missions in Nairobi, Kenya will administer to Seychelles once it is assigned to a mission.

These developments are significant given Seychelles’ remote location, small and predominantly Christian population, government stability, religious freedom, and bilingual environment (English and French). Approximately 90% of the nation’s 100,000 inhabitants reside on the main island of Mahé. The Church’s assignment of Seychelles to the Africa Central Area—which encompasses hundreds of millions of people and many rapidly growing nations—underscores the country’s potential strategic importance. There are two other countries in Africa that are traditionally Christian that have no official Latter-day Saint congregation: Equatorial Guinea (population: approximately 1.8 million) and São Tomé and Príncipe (approximately 250,000). The African nations that have most recently had an official congregation of the Church established (or reestablished) are The Gambia (2022) and South Sudan (2024).

Other proselytizing Christian denominations have experienced slow or stagnant growth in Seychelles, suggesting that the Church’s expansion may likewise progress gradually, similar to its measured growth in nearby island nations such as Mauritius and Réunion.