Floor restoration enhances cathedral's beauty

Friday, Jul. 28, 2023

Linda Petersen

Intermountain Catholic

SALT LAKE CITY — After the Cathedral of the Madeleine was restored in the 1990s, the cathedral’s floor shone like it did back when it was first installed in 1909. But time, wax and dirt have dulled the finish to the color of strong coffee. To return the floor to its natural maple color, Jeremy Librett of Babylon by Brush and his team have spent the last year stripping away the grime; the project is anticipated to take at least another year as the work is done section by section.

“It’s very slow going because it’s labor-intensive,” said Father Martin Diaz, the cathedral’s rector. “We have a beautiful floor under all that dirt and wax, and it would be great if people could see it. You only have to look at the main aisle and see how magnificently beautiful it is. It would be like putting a veil over the Mona Lisa or covering over the Pietà so people couldn’t see it. You would, of course, say ‘Let’s take off that veil so we can see it.’ It’s an artwork.”

Work on the front and main aisle has been completed. Now Librett is working on the area around the baptismal font, two side aisles and under the pews. This involves moving and cleaning underneath each pew.

During the 1990s restoration, the cathedral was closed for two years while the interior was gutted and the entire floor was sanded. This time around, the decision was made to not close the doors while the work was being done. Sanding the floor also was deemed unwise because of the cost and also because the sawdust would damage the cathedral’s historic Kenneth Jones organ. 

To remove the decades-old layers of wax and dirt from the floor, Librett initially tried a chemical process, but that proved too toxic. Instead, he and his team are employing heat guns to melt the wax, then hand scraping it off with a 2-inch blade. Librett does some light sanding but uses a gentle process with hook and loop style discs on a sander with a vacuum attachment.

The task is “incredibly laborious,” with each 18-inch square taking more than an hour to complete, but while Librett works he thinks of the artisans renovating the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris and feels an affinity with them, he said.

“You couldn’t be in a more wonderful absolutely beautiful place to go to work every day; it’s a glorious place to work,” he said. “There’s a connection to these artisans that are in Europe, and even though it’s not 1,000 years ago, I have an absolute direct connection to these craftsmen and these people that built these cathedrals 1,000 years ago. That’s amazing to feel that way, to be part of history.”

“There’s something incredibly special about the Cathedral of the Madeleine,” he added. “It’s a work of art. Like I tell my workers, ‘This is going to be here forever, so do it really well. They’re not going to tear this thing down in 30 years; this could be here for 1,000 years so this is our chance right now to contribute to the next 1,000 years.’”

“The other reason I do it is I wanted to make that cathedral brighter,”’ he said. “My personal goal was to be able to see the stained-glass windows reflected in the floor” – a goal he has seen realized.

A former boat builder and art history major, Librett restored the cathedral’s eight front doors last year and has done other work on the building, including some repairs after a 2021 break in.

The initial estimate to restore the cathedral floor was $100,000, which was covered by a grant from the Kirby Johnson Foundation. However, it now appears that it could cost as much as an additional $200,000 to complete the project. To cover the overrun, the cathedral has launched a fundraising campaign. If $25,000 is raised, an anonymous donor has agreed to donate $75,000. As of July 22 more than $7,500 has been donated. 

“The cathedral is the crown jewel for our whole diocese,” Fr. Diaz said. “This is us at our best in the cathedral. We are given support from across the diocese, so this is not just a parish project. People are donating who have seen it online or have visited. Visitors include people from out of state and people from around the diocese, so everything at the cathedral is for the diocese. The cathedral is everyone’s second home.” 

To donate to the restoration project, send a check payable to The Cathedral of the Madeleine, or call the cathedral office at 801-328-8941 to donate with a credit card. Donations also may be made online at https://utcotm.org/support-us.