Cathedral of the Madeleine celebrates 117 years in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — The Cathedral of the Madeleine is nestled in the foothills, and its congregation celebrated the 117th anniversary of the building's dedication on Saturday.

Ground was broken on South Temple in 1899 for what was initially the St. Mary Magdalene parish church, and it was dedicated on Aug. 15, 1909.

Parishioners could worship inside, but the second Bishop of Salt Lake City, Joseph Glass, began beautifying the original design. Glass hired John Theodore Comes to design murals and ornate carvings throughout the building.

Bells high in towers on the southern side of its Romanesque exterior chime on every quarter-hour, allowing homes in the Avenues a chance to listen to the music on a daily basis. Two of the bells, named Joseph and Mary, date back to 1917. The other two, named Cecelia and Michael, were installed in 1993.

Glass also rededicated the cathedral as the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the French spelling of Mary Magdalene's last name.

Eight gargoyles were originally positioned at the top of the cathedral in 1917 as part of the beautification process. However, the sandstone degraded over the next decade, leading to their removal in the 1930s.

The building received new gargoyles in 1975 — a combination of a bird, a cat and a dog — that weigh more than 1,200 pounds each.

The 1970s saw another major exterior renovation. Much of the stonework over the front entrance facing South Temple had begun to weather and lose its definition. Concrete repairs straightened stone points along the front tympanum and readjusted the stone staircases below the facade.

Between 1991 and 1993, the cathedral's interior and exterior underwent renovations to repair stonework that had eroded on the front of the building.

"The architecture is lovely; it's great," said Rev. Christopher Gray, Rector of the Cathedral. "But it's the interior that wows people."

Visitors stepping through the front doors of the cathedral are greeted with a small foyer, with a small chapel to the right. This small chapel is known as the Chapel of Our Lady of Zion, where rows of candles line either side of a statue titled Madona and Child by Utah artist Avard Fairbanks.

Returning to the foyer, a wall of double doors guards the heart of the cathedral, where worshippers gather together. A baptismal font of white stone greets visitors, cleaned daily to reflect light from the numerous stained glass windows and lights throughout the cathedral.

The stained glass windows were originally installed in 1908, but were completely rebuilt in 1992. Wooden pews march toward the altar, which sits at the heart of the cathedral. The Carrara onyx stone was inlaid with pieces of mosaic glass, its polished surface reflecting the colors of the stained glass windows.

The design of cathedrals worldwide comes from the Roman tradition. Rev. Gray said the consistent design helps to promote uniformity, which was important during the Roman Empire.

Rev. Gray also pointed out the large organ positioned above the doors at the back of the cathedral. The current organ was also installed in 1992, but has "several predecessors" that have hosted concerts and recitals throughout the year.

Rev. Gray said the organ in the cathedral is used, along with the organ in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, during the annual Organ Fest event. The event alternates between the Cathedral and the Salt Lake Tabernacle each year, giving organists from both denominations the chance to play at both locations.

Even with all the renovations over the last century, the Cathedral of the Madeline stands as the center of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, a place where Catholics and visitors from across Utah and the world can come to worship.

"This is Utah's cathedral," Rev. Gray said. "And I want it to be well known that this is your cathedral, everyone's cathedral. This is a special place for everyone."

Related topics