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.

History

1890 to 1990

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.

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.

In 2024, a small relic of St Mary Magdalene was stolen from the cathedral. It was never recovered

Music ministries

Madeleine Choir School

The cathedral is home to the Madeleine Choir School, the only co-educational Catholic choir School in the United States. Founded in 1996, the school serves from pre-K to eighth grade.

Cathedral Choir

The Cathedral Choir has recorded several CDs. It has performed at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Notre Dame de Paris in Paris and at churches across the United States and Europe.

Cathedral exterior

thumb|Exterior, Cathedral of the Madeleine (2007)

Bells

The cathedral has four bells installed in the west tower; they are named after St. Joseph, Mary, Mother of Jesus, St. Cecilia and St. Michael. The Joseph and Mary bells were installed in 1917 by the Maryland Brass Foundry, the remaining two in 1993 by the Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Facade

The cathedral facade is made of sandstone from Utah, restored in 1975. The reed stops are noted in red. The swell division is enclosed. Composer Amédée Tremblay served as the cathedral organist from 1920 to 1925.

Stop list

{| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" width="100%" style="border-collapse:collapse;"

|-

| width="20%" style="vertical-align:top" |

<!--Positive division-->

{| class="wikitable"

|+I - POSITIVE

!Pitch

!Stop

|-

|8'

|Principal

|-

|8'

|Hohlflute

|-

|8'

|Quintadena

|-

|4'

|Octave

|-

|4'

|Coppelflute

|-

|2 2/3'

|Nazard

|-

|2'

|Octave

|-

|1 3/5'

|Tierce

|-

|1'

|Larigot

|-

|V-VI

|Scharf 1 1/3

|-

|16'

|

|-

|8'

|

|-

|8'

|

|-

|8'

|Swell to Positive

|-

| colspan="2" |Tremulant

|}

<!---End Positive Division-->

|width="20%" style="vertical-align:top""|

<!---Begin Great Division-->

{| class="wikitable"

|+II - GREAT

!Pitch

!Stop

|-

|16'

|Principal

|-

|8'

|Octave

|-

|8'

|Rohrflute

|-

|8'

|Gamba

|-

|4'

|Octave

|-

|4'

|Spitzflute

|-

|2 2/3'

|Quint

|-

|2'

|Octave

|-

|2'

|Mixture IV

|-

|1/2'

|Cymbal III

|-

|8'

|

|-

|8'

|POSITIVE to GREAT

|-

|8'

|SWELL to GREAT

|-

|8'

|BOMBARDE to GREAT

|}

<!---End Great-->

| width="20%" style="vertical-align:top" |

<!---Begin Swell-->

{| class="wikitable"

|+III - SWELL

!Pitch

!Stop

|-

|16'

|Bourdon

|-

|8'

|Open Diapason

|-

|8'

|Gedeckt

|-

|8'

|Salicional

|-

|8'

|Celeste

|-

|4'

|Principal

|-

|4'

|Harmonic Flute

|-

|2 2/3'

|Nazard

|-

|2'

|Gemshorn

|-

|1 3/5'

|Tierce

|-

|2'

|Mixture

|-

|16'

|

|-

|8'

|

|-

|8'

|

|-

|4'

|

|-

| colspan="2" |Tremulant

|}

<!--End Swell-->

| width="20%" style="vertical-align:top" |

{| class="wikitable"

|+IV - BOMBARDE

!Pitch

!Stop

|-

|8'

|Open Flute

|-

|8'

|Dulciana

|-

|

|Cornet V

|-

|16'

|

|-

|8'

|

|-

|8

|

|-

|4'

|

|}

| width="20%" style="vertical-align:top"|

<!-- Begin Pedal -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+PEDAL

!Pitch

!Stop

|-

|32'

|Open Bass

|-

|16'

|Principal

|-

|16'

|Bourdon

|-

|8'

|Octave

|-

|8'

|Bass Flute

|-

|4'

|Choral Bass

|-

|4'

|Flute

|-

|2 2/3'

|Mixture IV

|-

|32'

|

|-

|16'

|

|-

|8'

|

|-

|4'

|

|-

|8'

|GREAT to PEDAL

|-

|8'

|POSITIVE to PEDAL

|-

|8'

|SWELL to PEDAL

|}<!-- End Pedal -->

|

|}

See also

  • List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
  • List of cathedrals in the United States
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Salt Lake City

References

  • Diocese of Salt Lake City
  • Madeleine Choir School official site