Eagle Scout creates prayer garden for cathedral

Friday, Jul. 04, 2025

 SALT LAKE CITY — A walled corner on the grounds of the Cathedral of the Madeleine has been turned into a prayer garden by Seth Painter, who was seeking an Eagle Scout project related to his faith.

Painter, a senior at Summit Academy High School in Bluffdale and a member of Boy Scout Troop 20, contacted Father Martin Diaz, the cathedral rector, who said he had a project in mind for which there was no budget: turning the southwest corner of the cathedral’s outside stairwell into a display for a sculpture to honor the unborn.

Painter undertook the project with the support of his father, who has been on his scouting journey since the beginning, and is an Eagle Scout himself.

“Once the project was approved by scouting leadership as well as Fr. Diaz, I asked my parents to help me raise the funds to do the project, and we asked my current and past Scout troops to help with the project,” Painter said.

After raising the money, Painter created the garden by making several planters that now contain xeriscaping and a bench, which faces an abstract sculpture. 

Being Catholic “has helped me to not only be able to have the patience and persistence to push through and complete the project, but also to have the faith community to support it,” he said, adding, “My faith has also helped me to be service-minded and to think about ways to help others and the community.”

Now that the project is complete Painter thanked all those who “gave their time and talents to help me with a lot of hard labor to renew the area to make it a beautiful place to pray and remember the unborn.”

His mother, Crystal Painter, director of the diocesan Office of Family Life, said she is “so proud of our son for choosing a meaningful project that reflects his faith and for wanting to do something special for the cathedral that will hopefully live on in perpetuity.”

She was also very grateful for the community’s response. “It was so amazing to see that he had such support and help both financially for the fundraising aspect of the project, but also at the project site itself,” she said. “So many Scouts and their families came to help do the work, and there was a lot of physical labor involved.” 

Even people who did not know Seth “made generous donations to the project,” she added. “It just makes my mama heart smile.”

The project is part of the requirements that Seth Painter had to complete to receive his Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouts of America. About 6 percent of Scouts receive this rank. The ceremony at which he will receive the rank is expected to take place later this summer.