By a hair's breadth

Friday, Apr. 22, 2016

The Cathedral of the Madeleine reached the championship round of ArtandLiturgy.com’s “Church Madness: National Churchpionship” competition on social media. The competition began with regional contests; in the Western regional rounds, the Cathedral of the Madeleine beat Holy Ghost Church in Denver, and the Mission Basilica of San Juan Capistrano in California. The semi-final round was against the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Ala. Advancing from there, the cathedral faced off against St. John Cantius Church in Chicago. The Archdiocese of Chicago has 2.4 million Catholics, while the Diocese of Salt Lake City has about 300,000 Catholics. The competition netted 16,363 total votes; the Cathedral of the Madeleine lost by a mere 181 votes. St. John Cantius posted a note on Facebook that read in part: “A big thank you to the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City and the Cathedral of the Madeleine for such a great contest in #ChurchMadness 2016! It was so much fun for all of us and truly exciting at every moment. You are a worthy competitor, and you are to be commended in the amazing outreach in soliciting votes (and TV Stations!).”