Alot can happen to a cathedral in 97 years

Intermountain Catholic

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Diocesan Administrator Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald censes the paschal candle in a recent ceremony in the Cathedral of the Madeleine. IC file photo

SALT LAKE CITY — Identified in Bernice Maher Mooney’s 1981 book, "The Story of the Cathedral of the Madeleine," as the "Second Builder of the Diocese of Salt Lake City," Bishop Duane G. Hunt (1884-1960) was a convert to Catholicism. Using the medium of radio, Bishop Hunt opened the Cathedral of the Madeleine to the world.

Bishop Hunt promoted "the peaceful coexistence established by Bishop Scanlan" between area Catholics and their Mormon neighbors.

Bishop Leo J. Steck (1898-1950) was the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s first auxiliary bishop. "Bishop Steck served the diocese for only one year before he suffered a stroke which brought about his untimely death in 1950," Mooney wrote.

Under Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal (1910-2000), the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s sixth bishop, the Cathedral of the Madeleine would undergo a massive exterior renovation. But before that, Bishop Federal would begin instituting many of the changes decreed by the Second Vatican Council, all sessions of which Bishop Federal participated in. Change is never easy. Some of Bishop Federal’s years in the See of Salt Lake City were tumultuous. He often said to the Intermountain Catholic after his retirement, "The language of the Mass changed, but the sacrifice of the Mass never changes."

Bishop Federal oversaw the use of non-electric guitars in the Cathedral, as well as liturgical changes like the Sign of Peace, Mass in the Vernacular, and the reception of Holy Communion in the hand.

In 1970 the Cathedral of the Madeleine was declared an official Historical Site by the Utah State Historical Society, Mooney wrote. "The following year it was registered as a National Historic Monument."

Facing years of weather changes and pollution, the exterior of the Cathedral needed work. The first cleaning of the complete exterior took place in 1959. By 1975, major work on the two towers and the facade was needed. Some of the original sandstone had actually begun to fall. From 1975 to 1979 the Cathedral was encased by scaffolding, and precast stone was chosen to replace some of the sandstone. The renovations included eight new gargoyles fashioned by University of Utah Student Peter Cole, and the frames of the stained glass windows were replaced.

The renovation of the interior of the Cathedral began with refinishing the front entry doors. But it would be Bishop Federal’s successor, Bishop William K. Weigand, (1937 - )who would oversee the remarkable transformation of the interior of the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Again, scaffolding went up, this time inside the Cathedral, which was completely closed from 2002 to 2004. A huge public fund drive took place, the theme of which was, "A Cathedral for All People."

Msgr. M. Francis Mannion, then-rector of the Cathedral, recently told the Intermountain Catholic he is most proud of the dramatic changes made in the sanctuary of the Cathedral, with its Italian marble floor, its bishop’s chair and screen, and its Blessed Sacrament Chapel. All of the changes, he said, brought the Cathedral of the Madeleine into compliance with the liturgical rulings of the Second Vatican Council.

The original colors of the Cathedral of the Madeleine came back to life as decades of dirt and smoke, were removed in a deep cleaning. The hanging light fixtures first installed by Bishop Glass underwent renovation, and the stained glass windows were taken down and sent, piece by piece, to be cleaned and repaired. During the joy-filled rededication of the Cathedral, the body of Bishop Scanlan, interred in a crypt in the Cathedral basement, was brought upstairs and re-interred under the old main altar.

It became the responsibility of Bishop George Niederauer (1936 - ) to ensure the future of the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Reaching back into diocesan and Cathedral history he instituted the annual Bishop’s Dinner, a fund raiser inviting the ongoing support of Catholics and the community at large.