San Francisco archbishop to give keynote address at Cathedral of the Madeleine fundraising dinner

Friday, Aug. 29, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — The 11th annual Bishop’s Dinner will feature Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco as the guest speaker.

This will be Archbishop Cordileone’s first official visit to Utah since his installation in 2012; however, he was present at the installation of Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City in 2007, and he remembers being impressed by the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

“It’s very beautiful and it’s a holy place; it engenders a spirit of reverence and holiness,” said Archbishop Cordileone, who will focus his presentation for the Bishop’s Dinner on the role of a cathedral as the center of life and worship for the local Church. 

A cathedral holds the bishop’s chair, the symbol of his teaching authority and of the succession of the Apostles, Archbishop Cordileone said. A cathedral also is the venue for all of the important diocesan liturgical events, such as ordinations and the Chrism Mass, he pointed out.

In addition, “it definitely has a role in the life of the wider community,” the archbishop said. “When there’s a special need for everyone to come together – from different faith backgrounds or even no faith backgrounds – the Catholic cathedral is the logical place to do that. It’s a common gathering point.” For example, after the 1989 Oakland earthquake, the interfaith community organized a benefit concert that was held at the Cathedral of Saint Frances de Sales, he said.

 That cathedral was damaged in the earthquake and since has been replaced by the Cathedral of Christ the Light, the first cathedral built in the 21st century. Archbishop Cordileone was installed as the Fourth Bishop of Oakland in that cathedral in 2009; as Archbishop of San Francisco, his seat is the new Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, which was completed in 1971. He appreciates that both of these cathedrals were built after Vatican II and incorporate many modern architectural features that differ from older churches, he said.

The two cathedrals in the San Francisco area differ in their designs, he said, “but each speaks of a certain majesty and transcendence in its own way. … Both of the cathedrals, each in their own way, have a sense of drawing people up toward the heavens.”

One aspect of the Salt Lake City cathedral that Archbishop Cordileone admires and would like to replicate is the Madeleine Choir School, he said.  

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful contribution to the life of the Church, an important tool of evangelization,” he said.

Besides helping to engender in young people an appreciation of beauty and music and the Church’s repertoire of sacred music, “it also helps to instill a deep sense of Catholic identity, because they’re connected to our tradition, our roots. That will sink deep within them and stay with them for the rest of their lives,” he said. “We have a fledgling choir school here that I’m hoping that we can build up, and we’re kind of looking to you as the model to strive after.”

Having Archbishop Cordileone as the guest speaker for the Bishop’s Dinner is important because he is the metropolitan for the Province of San Francisco, in which the Diocese of Salt Lake City is located, said Bishop Wester.

The dinner itself is important because it’s the main fundraising event for the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Bishop Wester added, “but it’s also very important because it builds support for the cathedral and its programs in the community. It serves as a reminder for how important the cathedral is, not just to the Catholic Church but to the entire community. The cathedral stands as a beacon of God’s presence in our midst. It’s a place that raises our thoughts and minds to God; it’s a place not only of liturgy but of cultural beauty and music. It has a lot of functions. It has a very important place in all of our lives.”

WHAT: The Bishop’s Dinner

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 18, social hour 6 p.m.; dinner 7 p.m.

WHERE: Grand America Hotel

Cost: $150 per person

RSVP to debiallred@utcotm.org