Qualla: Cathedral of the Madeleine

Cathedral of the Madeleine: Introduction

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Always dreamin, CC BY-SA 4.0. Two days before Mormon pioneers celebrate their arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, Catholics gather at the Cathedral of the Madeleine to honor their own patron saint. Bishop Lawrence Scanlan chose this timing deliberately. In a territory dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he wanted his flock to have their own celebration alongside Pioneer Day. The feast day of Mary Magdalene falls on July 22, and so in 1909, Scanlan dedicated the only cathedral in America bearing her name.

Image: Always dreamin | CC BY-SA 4.0

Cathedral of the Madeleine: Stone and Vision

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Streamline1989 at English Wikipedia, Public domain. The cathedral took nine years to build, from groundbreaking in 1900 to completion in 1909. Architects Carl M. Neuhausen and Bernard O. Mecklenburg designed an exterior of local sandstone in the Neo-Romanesque style, with rounded arches and solid masonry that speaks of permanence....

Image: Streamline1989 at English Wikipedia | Public domain

Cathedral of the Madeleine: The Spanish Gothic Interior

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NateBergin, CC BY 4.0. The second bishop of Salt Lake, Joseph S. Glass, transformed the cathedral's interior into something extraordinary. He commissioned John Theodore Comes, one of America's preeminent ecclesiastical architects, to decorate the space in the Spanish Gothic style. Felix Liefuchter pain...

Image: NateBergin | CC BY 4.0

Cathedral of the Madeleine: Relics Lost and Found

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit TrappistMonkStuff, CC BY-SA 4.0. For years, a small case containing a first-class relic of Saint Mary Magdalene rested atop Bishop Scanlan's tomb. The cathedral was one of only two in the world to hold such a relic while bearing her name, the other being the Basilica of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in France. T...

Image: TrappistMonkStuff | CC BY-SA 4.0

Cathedral of the Madeleine: Voices Rising

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit ItsJosh801, CC BY-SA 3.0. The cathedral pulses with music. A Kenneth Jones organ built in 1992 fills the space with 4,242 pipes arranged across 60 stops and 82 ranks. But the most remarkable sound comes from the Madeleine Choir School, the only co-educational Catholic choir school in the United States. Es...

Image: ItsJosh801 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Cathedral of the Madeleine: A Catholic Landmark

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Cathedral of the Madeleine stands listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a recognition of both its architectural significance and its role in Utah's religious history. In a state where Catholics remain a minority, this sandstone cathedral has served as mother chu...

Image: Farragutful | CC BY-SA 4.0