Bishop Richard Hanifen reflects on our mother church

Intermountain Catholic

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Retired Bishop Richard Hanifen of Colorado Springs, Colo., is the main celebrant of the annual Chrism Mass in the Cathedral of the Madeleine this year. Bishop Hanifen told the Intermountain Catholic he is impressed with the history of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, especially the work and dedication of our first bishop, Lawrence Scanlan, and the few Catholics who undertook the construction of the cathedral. IC file photo

Editor’s note: The Cathedral of the Madeleine will hold their annual Bishop’s Dinner, a fund raiser for the care and maintenance of the Cathedral of the Madeleine and its surrounding buildings, Sept. 26, 2006, at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Retired Bishop Richard Hanifen will be a featured guest at the dinner.

SALT LAKE CITY — To understand the full significance of any cathedral, and specifically the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s Cathedral of the Madeleine, Retired Bishop Richard Hanifen of Colorado Springs said one must understand the Catholic Church’s belief in the succession of the apostles as the shepherds of the Catholic Church.

"A cathedral is a symbol of the bishop’s presence and of his role as the authentic teacher in the diocese," Bishop Hanifen said in an Aug. 21 telephone interview with the Intermountain Catholic. Traveling from Colorado Springs to San Diego, Bishop Hanifen stopped briefly in Southern Utah to speak to the Intermountain Catholic by cell phone.

"The word ‘cathedra’ means chair," Bishop Hanifen said. "The cathedral is the official chair of teaching of the diocesan bishop. It is a symbol of our respect for and our belief in the teachings of the church as passed down through the bishops."

Cathedrals have long had a civic role, not only in each diocese, but also in the civic community that surrounds it, he said.

"The Cathedral reflects the Catholic presence in a community, and it reminds the community of the services the people of Cathedral Parish render to the community," Bishop Hanifen said. "The Cathedral of the Madeleine has a long history of caring for the poor of the community and of support for the arts and humanities. That tradition is much the same as ours in Colorado Springs, where our cathedral is located in the heart of the city where many homeless people gather. The neighborhood of the Cathedral of the Madeleine is served well by its presence."

Bishop Hanifen, who since Bishop Niederauer became Archbishop of San Francisco, has filled in, celebrating the annual Chrism Mass in the Cathedral of the Madeleine. He will be a featured guest at the Bishop’s Dinner the annual fund raiser for the cathedral. He jokingly refers to himself as "your rent-a-bishop."

"The Cathedral of the Madeleine first caught my eye at the ordination of Bishop William Weigand years ago," he said. "It is a beautiful and inspiring building. It’s remarkable that your first bishop, Bishop Scanlan, and a community of 3,000 Catholics were able to build the cathedral. He must have gotten huge donation from Catholic families and from the miners, most of whom were Catholic immigrants to Utah."

Bishop Hanifen said the church doesn’t "just plop a cathedral down and let the community grow up around it."

"The Catholic community is established first. The first church that is built often become the cathedral when the new diocese is named."

The care and maintenance of a cathedral, Bishop Hanifen said, becomes the responsibility of the entire diocese.

"The Cathedral becomes the place where so many diocese-wide liturgies take place, and so many big events occur. It would be impossible for the Cathedral parishioners alone to be responsible for all of that. In many dioceses, each parish is levied a cathedral tax. In your case, you hold the Bishop’s Dinner as an annual fund raiser.

"The Cathedral of the Madeleine, with its wonderful choir school and its beautiful liturgies is certainly a church to be proud of, to take ownership of, and to support. It is a remarkable symbol of the faith of Utah Catholics."

For further information about the annual Bishop’s Dinner call 801-328-8941.