On September 4, 2026, the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City filled with people who love a building — and, far more importantly, what that building does. The 2026 Bishop's Dinner, hosted by Bishop Oscar A. Solis under the theme "Utah's Cathedral, Your Home," raises the funds that keep the Cathedral of the Madeleine standing, singing, and serving.
Praiseworthy Apps — the team behind Hit Em Up — was honored to be there as a sponsor, at table D4.
Table D4 — Praiseworthy Apps — as Bishop Oscar A. Solis addresses the 2026 Bishop's Dinner at the Grand America Hotel.
Why We Became a Sponsor and Donor
At Praiseworthy Apps, it's not about money. It's about impact — and about loving the community that brightens up this earthly life.
That's why the seats at our table weren't filled with executives or investors. We sponsored servants of the Salt Lake City community — people specifically selected for the works they do for this city, who likely otherwise couldn't have attended an evening like this. They spend their lives giving; for one night, we wanted them to be the guests of honor.
And why support this cause at all? Because we support the Church that Jesus Christ Himself founded, and the good it ought to do in the world. When the Church does what she was built to do — feed, teach, console, and lift — an entire city is better for it, believer and non-believer alike.
We were in good company. Longtime Utah philanthropists Paul and Jane Hitzelberger — founders of the Del Taco franchise in Utah through Utah Del, Inc. — have championed the Cathedral for years, and institutions like Zions Bank stood among the evening's supporters as well. It says something good about Salt Lake City that its business community shows up for its landmarks.
"Utah's Cathedral, Your Home" — the 2026 Bishop's Dinner, September 4, 2026, at the Grand America Hotel.
A Cathedral for the Whole Community — 117 Years and Counting
The Cathedral of the Madeleine is not just a Catholic treasure; it's a Utah one.
Construction began in 1900 under the Right Reverend Lawrence Scanlan, Utah's pioneering first bishop, and the cathedral was dedicated on August 15, 1909 by Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore. Architects Carl M. Neuhausen and Bernard O. Mecklenburg gave it its distinctive character: a stately Romanesque exterior wrapped around a soaring, color-drenched Gothic interior unlike anything else in the American West.
A few milestones from its 117 years:
- 1909 — Dedicated as the mother church of the Diocese of Salt Lake City
- 1971 — Added to the National Register of Historic Places
- 1975–1980 — Major exterior restoration under Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal
- 1991–1993 — A $9.7 million interior renovation, rededicated February 21, 1993
- 2004 — The first annual Bishop's Dinner, which has supported the cathedral's preservation and ministries ever since
Today the cathedral serves the whole community, not just Catholics: thousands of tourists walk through its doors every year, its concert series and the renowned Madeleine Choir School fill it with music, and its outreach ministries feed and clothe neighbors downtown. Proceeds from this year's dinner support both the building — including substantial roof repairs — and the pastoral work that happens inside it.
Meeting the Rector
One personal highlight: shaking hands with Father Christopher Gray, rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, inside the cathedral itself — beneath murals that have watched over Salt Lake City for more than a century. Fr. Gray took the helm as rector in August 2025, and the cathedral is clearly in loving hands.
Our founder with Fr. Christopher Gray, rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine.
Want to Help?
If the Cathedral of the Madeleine has ever meant something to you — a Mass, a concert, a quiet visit on a hard day, or just its towers on the skyline — consider supporting its preservation:
Our Small Part: Helping Communities Stay Connected
Community is built one personal connection at a time — that's the entire reason Hit Em Up exists. Parishes, ministries, choirs, and volunteer groups use it to reach hundreds of people personally: one message, sent individually to every person, with their own name in it. No messy group chats, no reply-all chaos — just the kind of personal invitation people actually respond to.
If you serve a community — religious or otherwise — we'd love to help you love them better:
To everyone who made the 2026 Bishop's Dinner what it was — Bishop Solis, Fr. Gray, the organizers, the Hitzelbergers, Zions Bank, and every guest and volunteer — thank you. It's a privilege to help care for Utah's cathedral, your home.
P.S. — Here's the poster we designed for the evening: an illuminated-tapestry take on what Hit Em Up does. One message, and Peter, Paul, and Cathy each get their own. Scan the QR to see for yourself.
"Personal Mass Texting: Everyone en masse at Mass ✝ — and everywhere else too." Our poster for the 2026 Bishop's Dinner.