Cathedral of the Madeleine is 'a treasure'

Friday, Sep. 26, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — The Cathedral of the Madeline was the focus of attention Sept. 18 as more than 500 people gathered in Salt Lake City’s Grand America hotel for the annual Bishop’s Dinner.

The Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco and metropolitan of the province, was the keynote speaker for the evening. 

Earlier that day, he was given a tour of the cathedral, he said, during which “I could see it up close and could see the beauty of it, and it struck me how it truly is a treasure of our Church here in our county,” said the archbishop, who previously had visited Utah in 2007 for the installation of the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City.

Cathedrals have many roles, Archbishop Cordileone said. “The cathedral is an episcopal expression of these marks of the Church. It is a house of worship in which God’s people are sanctified. It is the seat of the bishop, the direct successor of the Apostles. It shelters the altar, which is the family table for the community of the local Church. It manifests the communion of this local community with the Church of Christ throughout the world under the leadership of the Bishop of Rome. And it reaches out to the wider world community, … welcoming everyone in a space for all people to come together in times of special need. Every cathedral, however modest, has this vocation.”

With the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Utahns are “the beneficiaries of the hard work, sacrifice and vision of the pioneer Catholic community in Salt Lake City over a century ago, which has bequeathed to you a truly beautiful cathedral church,” the archbishop said. Referring to the efforts of the Most Rev. William K. Weigand, the seventh Bishop of Salt Lake City, and Monsignor M. Francis Mannion, cathedral pastor from 1986 to 2000, during the 1994 restoration of the cathedral’s interior, “and the generous assistance of many donors, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, the Cathedral of the Madeleine now stands as a glowing beacon of faith here in the state of Utah,” Archbishop Cordileone said.

The Cathedral of the Madeleine is the mother parish church of all Catholics in Utah, he said, and “should not only nurture the faith of Catholics but share that faith with others.” 

One way the cathedral does that is with its artwork, which expresses the tenets of the faith, he added. “Just to enter the Madeleine is an invitation to explore the rich theological and spiritual patrimony that is ours.”

Another way the cathedral evangelizes is through the Madeleine Choir School, the archbishop said.

The dinner is an annual fundraiser for the Cathedral of the Madeleine, and during his remarks at the dinner, Bishop Wester said those who donated were not only giving to a building, “we are supporting a work of the cathedral that leads men and women to God, to the peace of God, to the glory of God.”

Bishop Wester said he will never forget Monday, March 12, 2007, the day he first walked into the Cathedral of the Madeleine. “I was bowled over by its beauty, its rich symbolism, its architectural and artistic magnificence, and every time – every single time – I enter our mother church, I have that same feeling of awe and wonder. We are truly blessed with such a sacred and fine worship space,” he added. “It is your generosity and selflessness that makes the support and advancement of our cathedral possible. You have opened the doors of your hearts to us, and, I might add, your pocketbooks, and that allows us to keep our doors open so that our beautiful cathedral can continue to be an exquisite place of worship, a center of unity and a beacon of peace and hope in our community.” 

Among those who attended the dinner were Mexican Consul Eduardo Arnal; JoAnn Seghini, mayor of Midvale; former Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon; Elder M. Russell Ballard, Elder L. Whitney Clayton and other representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Pamela Atkinson, community activist; the Very Rev. Frederick Lawson, the Very Rev. Ray Waldon and the Rev. Carol Marsh of the Episcopal Church in Utah; and Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Zions Bank. 

In greeting those at the dinner, Father Martin Diaz, the cathedral pastor, said people enter the Cathedral of the Madeleine for many reasons, but “whether one comes to pray, to sing, to count angels or just to get out of the elements, all are welcome at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Thank you for your assistance in keeping the doors open.”

The dinner, which had the theme “Generations of Faith,” was dedicated to the memory of Bernice Maher Mooney, author and Diocese of Salt Lake City archivist emeritus. 

Also during the evening, Laurel Dokas, who recently stepped down as the cathedral’s development director, was recognized for her 10 years with the Cathedral of the Madeleine.