The 20th Annual Bishop’s Dinner
September 4, 2024
The Grand America Hotel
Social Hour 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Dinner 7 p.m.
2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the Cathedral of the Madeleine's Bishop's Dinner. Since 2004, the Bishop's dinner has remained a central fixture of fundraising for the Cathedral, supporting everything from community events, to the maintenance and restoration of the building itself. As we enter into the next chapter, we look forward to welcoming you for an evening of fellowship, reflecting on the rich history of the Cathedral, and ensuring another 20 years of community and worship.



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Intermountain Health
James & Anna Romano
Kirton McConkie
Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation
Robert P. and Mary H. Evans Foundation
Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City
Starks Funeral Parlor
Robert P. and Mary H. Evans Foundation
Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City
Starks Funeral Parlor


Since its construction in 1900, community support has been central to the preservation and maintenance of the unique beauty and rich history found within the walls of
the Cathedral. This year, we reflect on the community enabled projects throughout the years:

1900:

Under the leadership of the Right Reverend Lawrence Scanlan (1843 - 1915), the first bishop of Salt Lake, the construction of The Cathedral of the Madeleine began in 1900, and was completed in 1909. Finished in white and green, the Cathedral’s interior lacked much of it’s current ornamentation until late 1918, when the Right Reverend Joseph S. Glass lead a thorough reconstruction of the art and furnishings, inspired by the Spanish gothic art of the late Middle Ages.
1991: 

Following 90 years of service, the Cathedral wore the effects of dirt and pollution from the intervening decades. Starting in 1991 a much needed restoration of the interior began under the leadership of The Most Reverend William K. Weigand, who was appointed bishop of Salt Lake City in 1980, the most extensive in the Cathedral's history.
2023: 

Last year, enabled by generous donations from the “Restore Her Floor” campaign and previous Bishop’s dinners, the Cathedral began the massive undertaking of cleaning and refinishing the original wood floors. Restoration teams, working entirely by hand, removed years of wax and dirt, returning the floors to their original beauty.
Interested In More Cathedral History?      
Learn More Here



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Beginning in 1891, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City has seen ten bishops serve as the spiritual leader of Utah Catholics.  
All bishops are based at The Cathedral of the Madeleine.  

YearBishopHistory
1891The Right Reverend Lawrence Scanlan



In 1873 Lawrence Scanlan took over St. Mary Magdalen parish in Salt Lake City and became the first bishop of the diocese in 1891.  Ambitious and energetic, he created parishes from Ogden to Silver Reef and from Park City to Ely, Nevada, as well as the Cathedral of the Madeleine, All Hallows College, St. Ann Orphanage and Holy Cross Hospital, assisted in many endeavors by the Holy Cross Sister
1915The Right Reverend Joseph S. Glass, C.M.

Ordained Bishop of Salt Lake on August 24, 1915, he set out almost immediately to plan the redecoration of the Cathedral interior, the work for which he is best known.  Less well known is that he was a tireless traveler with a driving concern to establish missions and parishes in rural Utah wherever he could find a sufficient number of Catholics and recruit a priest.  

1920The Most Reverend Duane G. Hunt

From 1913-16 Duane G. Hunt served as Professor of Speech at the University of Utah, but he left that to be ordained by Bishop Joseph S. Glass on June 27, 1920, the first ordination to take place in the Cathedral of the Madeleine. When Bishop John J. Mitty took over the nearly bankrupt diocese in 1926, Hunt became his indispensable assistant.  Mitty recognized his unique academic background and talents and placed him in charge of The Intermountain Catholic and assigned him to give weekly radio broadcasts on KSL called the Utah Catholic Hour.  A prolific writer, he wrote a long series of books and pamphlets explaining and defending the Catholic faith and issued the texts of his radio broadcasts as pamphlets.

1926The Right Reverend John J. Mitty

Upon his ordination as Bishop of Salt Lake on September 8, 1926 he understood that he had been sent here for a purpose: to rescue the diocese from the financial malaise that Bishop Glass’s spending had created.  By the time he was installed as Co-adjutor Archbishop of San Francisco on February 4, 1932, his sometimes harsh methods had accomplished just that, and paved the way for achievement of complete solvency under his successor.

1932The Most Reverend James E. Kearney

He was consecrated Bishop of Salt Lake on October 28, 1932.  Although his tenure as bishop was even briefer than Bishop Mitty’s, he succeeded in completing his predecessor’s great task of getting the diocese out of debt and on solid financial ground.  That he accomplished that by 1936, during the depth of the Great Depression, is a remarkable achievement.  When he was installed as Bishop of Rochester, New York on November 11, 1937, he left behind a record as one of our most beloved bishops.

1960The Most Reverend Joseph Lennox Federal

Born in North Carolina on January 20, 1910 and ordained in Rome in 1934, he distinguished himself in ministering to rural parishes in his native state and was named rector of the cathedral in Raleigh in 1938. He became Auxiliary to Bishop Hunt in 1951 and named Co-adjutor with right of succession in 1958. When he became Ordinary of the diocese in 1960, he began a decade of extraordinary activity. One development was implementing the reforms of Vatican II, which he attended in all four sessions.  During the 1970s he oversaw the exterior renovation of the Cathedral, which had fallen into dangerous disrepair.  Also, he created the Diocesan Development Drive, the first systematic fund-raising mechanism for the diocese.

1980The Most Reverend William K. Weigand

William K. Weigand became Bishop of Salt Lake City on November 17, 1980.  Among his achievements were the expansion of the programs of Catholic Community Services, including construction of the Weigand Resource Center on Rio Grande Avenue, creation of the Catholic Foundation of Utah, a multimillion dollar endowment for a wide variety of diocesan and parish programs, and most conspicuously the $10.4 million interior renovation of the Cathedral.

1995The Most Reverend George H. Niederauer, Ph.D.Beginning his priestly ministry as a seminary teacher at St. John’s, George H. Niederauer was installed as Bishop of Salt Lake City on January 25, 1995. Salt Lake City achieved worldwide recognition in 2002 when it hosted the winter Olympics. Bishop Neiderauer and his staff were heavily occupied in making religious services and facilities available.  Perhaps his most conspicuous achievement, though, was the opening in 1993 of the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper, and immense and impressively equipped parochial school funded by Sam and Aline Skaggs.
2007The Most Reverend John C. Wester

Following his ordaination in San Francisco in 1976, Archbishop John Charles Wester served the Bay area across various levels of education and admistration. On July 25, 1997, His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, named Reverend Wester a Prelate of Honor, giving him the title of Monsignor. He then served as the vicar for clergy in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. In 1998, Monsignor Wester was ordained auxiliary bishop of San Francisco and appointed to serve as the vicar general. On January 8, 2007, he was named Bishop of Salt Lake City and installed on March 14, 2007. His kind and giving spirit reflects his Episcopal motto: Abide in Christ.

2017The Most Reverend Oscar A. Solis, D.D.
The Most Reverend Oscar A. Solis was ordained a priest on April 28, 1979 for the Diocese of Cabanatuan. He was appointed Bishop on December 11, 2003 and ordained on February 10, 2004. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles until his appointment on January 10, 2017, as the Tenth Bishop of Salt Lake City.



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The 20th Annual Bishop’s Dinner 

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Thank You To Our Sponsors!






Intermountain Health
James & Anna Romano
Kirton McConkie
Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation
Robert P. and Mary H. Evans Foundation
Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City
Starks Funeral Parlor





The Cathedral of the Madeleine’s
2024 Bishop’s Dinner

Salt Lake City, Utah