Cathedral undergoes repairs

IC photo/Laura Vallejo

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Repairs to the ceiling of the Cathedral of the Madeleine required a 58-foot scaffolding.

SALT LAKE CITY — Those attending Mass recently at the Cathedral of the Madeleine have encountered an ungainly temporary addition among the permanent artwork: a 58-foot metal scaffolding that was brought in so repairs could be made the ceiling.

The cathedral suffered the damage in the 2020 earthquake.

While more obvious cracks were repaired soon after the quake, a couple of months ago, two pieces of plaster about an inch and a half wide fell from the dome during a Spanish Mass, said Father Martin Diaz, rector.

Fr. Dominic Sternhagen, the cathedral’s parochial vicar, took the pieces of plaster to Fr. Diaz, who also had been notified by a maintenance man about a crack in one of the pillars.

Tom Stevens and Company, who had done previous repair work at the cathedral, were hired to fix the additional damage.

“We repaired the cracks and also repainted the star in the middle of the dome,” said Nate Stromness. Now “when I am with friends and family at the Cathedral  I tell them that I did the star.”

Repairing old and religious places comes naturally, he said, and he has been doing so for years.

To replicate the colors of the sites Stromness repaints, such as the cathedral ceiling, he tests various mixes until he finds a good match.

“I enjoy what I do, and when it’s a sacred place like the cathedral it gives me lots of joy and pride,” he said.

The work on the cathedral was undertaken thanks to the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which last year gave a donation to help pay for repairs of the earthquake damage, Fr. Diaz said.

However, the cathedral rectory is still undergoing some repairs.

“We think it was earthquake damage from last year or just aging,” Fr. Diaz said. “The reason for the repairs is easily the principle ‘a stitch in time saves nine.’ That is, to make repairs while the problem is still small.”

Additional funds are being sought, he added.

“We are putting in a family bathroom, gift shop, and museum cabinet into the basement of the cathedral,” he said. “Donations would be most helpful.”