About this property
The Cathedral of the Madeleine is a Catholic cathedral in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. It was completed in 1909 and is the cathedral, or mother church, of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. The Cathedral of the Madeleine is the only American cathedral that is under the patronage of St. Mary Magdalene. On January 27, 1891, Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Salt Lake and appointed Lawrence Scanlan as its first bishop. He hired the architects Carl M. Neuhausen and Bernard O. Mecklenburg of Salt Lake City to design its new cathedral. Scanlan had purchased a property in Salt Lake City for a new cathedral in 1890, paying $35,000. Mary Magdalene was chosen as the patron saint of the new cathedral, with a feast day of July 22. That date falls two days before Pioneer Day, a celebration commemorating the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in Salt Lake Valley. Therefore, it is speculated that the diocese wanted Catholics to join with Mormons in celebrations around the same time. The cathedral construction began in 1900 and was completed in 1909. The construction cost was $344,000. The Cathedral of the Madeleine was dedicated in 1909 by Cardinal James Gibbons of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In 1915, Bishop Joseph S. Glass undertook extensive decoration of the interior of the new cathedral. He hired the architect John T. Comès of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the job. In 1916, Glass also changed the name of the cathedral from Magdalene to Magdalein after visiting the purported tomb of that saint in France. Comès added several shrines to the cathedral in 1917, with woodworking by the American artist Johannes Kirchmayer. Murals by Felix Lieftuchter were also installed at this time. Bishop William K. Weigand undertook an extensive cleaning of the cathedral interior in 1991. He also constructed a new altar, moved the cathedra, added a new baptismal font, and created a Blessed Sacrament Chapel in the cathedral. Many of these changes were prompted by liturgical reforms following the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s. The 1991 renovation was supported in part by a $500,000 matching-fund donation from businessman and philanthropist James LeVoy Sorenson, which helped advance the cathedral’s restoration campaign. Other major changes from the 1991 renovation included the creation of a plaza outside the cathedral, the seismic refitting of the structure, the construction of Scanlan Hall, and the rebuilding of the lower level of the building. During the cathedral’s 1993 rededication ceremonies, Roger Mahony noted that many non-Catholics had contributed to the restoration project, including financial support from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Episcopal Diocese of Utah. Representatives of these faiths, including Thomas S. Monson, participated in the ceremony.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Cathedral of the Madeleine listed on the National Register?
Cathedral of the Madeleine was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 10, 1971.
What type of historic resource is Cathedral of the Madeleine?
Cathedral of the Madeleine is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Cathedral of the Madeleine?
The period of significance for Cathedral of the Madeleine is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1909.
Can I research the history near Cathedral of the Madeleine?
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