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SALT LAKE CITY — Catholics from throughout the country gathered in Salt Lake City for a conference last week which focused on cathedrals and the ministries and programs that make them important in their communities.
They came from 37 states, representing cathedrals and their ministries. Members of this biennial conference chose Salt Lake with its first-time host the Cathedral of the Madeleine. They shared ideas about worship services and social outreach.
"They hear about all of these various agencies that we help augment here and how that takes place in their cities, said Monsignor Joseph Mayo, pastor at the Cathedral of the Madelein. "So the whole idea is that they would learn something unique or special about what we do and then maybe take it back to where they come from."
One of their keynote speakers talked of the different ways that each generation of Catholics sees the faith.
The different kinds of experiences that they've had with Catholicism so far, and different ways, possibly that that can be built on by cathedral ministries but by the church in general," said Sister Patricia Wittberg, from Sisters of Charity in Indianapolis.
One afternoon, some attendees toured the Conference Center. They saw the main hall from above and below. They went to the second floor to view the Arnold Friberg Book of Mormon paintings gallery.
On Temple Square, they saw the exterior of the Salt Lake Temple and what the interior looks like from a replica. Then it was into the Tabernacle where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed
They found similarities and learned of differences, like tithing.
"I think Catholics could learn a lot from that, in terms of our ability to actually support financially our own, our institution, as well as our churches and parishes and diocese," said Leo Keegan from the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland.
Among them was the rector of perhaps the best-known American Cathedral, St. Patrick's in New York City. Monsignor Robert Richie was very complimentary about the tour.
"Sometimes we, Catholics, are a little bit off-standing," Richie said. "We can learn something very positive about the open arms of welcoming that the LDS Church has."
The visitors told Monsignor Mayo that they were most impressed with the Cathedral of the Madeleine's Good Samaritan program and the Madeleine Choir School, the only co-ed choir school in the United States.
