Bishop Lawrence Scanlan bought this ground in 1890, and by 1909 the Cathedral of the Madeleine rose as the mother church of his diocese. It is the only American cathedral under the patronage of St. Mary Magdalene, chosen as patron with a feast day of July 22. That date falls two days before Pioneer Day, and the diocese even speculated that Catholics might join Mormons in celebrations around the same time.
The story begins with Bishop Lawrence Scanlan: Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Salt Lake on January 27, 1891 and appointed Scanlan as its first bishop. Scanlan purchased this property in 1890 for $35,000 and later hired local architects Carl M. Neuhausen and Bernard O. Mecklenburg to design the new cathedral. Construction began in 1900, cost $344,000, and was completed in 1909; the cathedral was dedicated in 1909 by Cardinal James.
Stand here and feel the weight of those years and those choices, from a 1890 property purchase through a decade of building, to the 1909 completion that made this structure the diocesan heart. Salt Lake City's Catholic mother church has held this ground since 1909.