Cathedral's story told in words and pictures

Intermountain Catholic

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This photo, reproduced from ?The Story of the Cathedral of the Madeleine,? shows the building's original interior.

SALT LAKE CITY – The centennial celebration of the dedication of the Cathedral of the Madeleine this year gave us all the opportunity to look back again at the history of this magnificent building. Diocesan Archivist Gary Topping gives an in-depth look at the Cathedral of the Madeleine from before it was a twinkle in the eye of the first Catholic pioneers to enter the valley, through the first plans and work by the diocese’s first bishop Lawrence Scanlan, to today’s use of the house of worship not only as the mother church of the diocese but as a center for the community’s arts and humanities.

In "The Story of The Cathedral of the Madeleine" Topping gives tribute to his predecessor, Bernice Maher Mooney, whose 1981 book "The Story of the Cathedral of the Madeleine" Topping draws from.

Topping gives a generous helping of diocesan history as he shows the evolution of the Cathedral of the Madeleine throughout its many transformations, from the research and imagination of Bishop Scanlan in the 1800s, through its interior decoration by Bishop Joseph Sarfield Glass from 1900 to 1930 and its exterior renovation by Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal in the 1970s, and culminating with its massive interior renovation under Bishop William K. Weigand in the 1990s.

The book opens with a poetic forward by the diocese’s present bishop, John Charles Wester, who emphasizes the importance of cathedrals in general, and the Cathedral of the Madeleine in particular.

"During the day, the light streaming through the stained glass reminds the Cathedral that it cannot stand alone: it depends on that which is outside it to enhance its beauty," Bishop Wester writes. "During the night, however, the larger community is reminded of the place of the Cathedral in its day to day existence, giving it a deeper sense of beauty, wonder, awe and mystery."

Complementing Topping’s words, Anne Torrence’s beautiful color photo essay in the center of the book not only reveals the beauty of the building, but the diversity of the faces one sees there.

Topping has meticulously researched the Cathedral, mining the diocesan archives to fill out the story from its conception in the mind of Bishop Scanlan to its role today in the faith lives of Catholics and others in the community who find the building a source of solace, a place of ministry to the broken, and the perfect place to share the works of artists and musicians from around the world.

"…like our predecessors going all the way back to Bishop Scanlan, our love for the great edifice is complex and powerful, and its significance for our spiritual lives is profound," Topping writes. "As the Cathedral enters its second century, our prayers are for future Utah Catholics, that they will continue to love and care for it as we who came before them have done."

"The Story of the Cathedral of the Madeleine" praises the dedication of the diocese’s early pioneers who first committed themselves to the arduous task of placing stone upon stone to begin the building, and it recognizes and places forever in the history of the Diocese of Salt Lake City the names of those who have given so much to keep the Cathedral of the Madeleine a proper centerpiece in our spiritual lives.

"The Story of the Cathedral of the Madeleine" is a delightful companion to the third edition of "Salt of the Earth," by Bernice Maher Mooney and Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, published in 2008.

"The Story of the Cathedral of the Madeleine," by Gary Topping, 2009, Sagebrush Press, Salt Lake City, soft cover, $16.95.