We visit the famed ‘Staircase’ at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, NM. Just a short walk from the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis sits the Loretto Chapel which is home to the famous and mysterious staircase. This is an absolute ‘must see.’
During 1872, the Bishop of the Santa Fe archdiocese was Jean-Baptiste Lamy. French by birth, he was elected as the very first Bishop of the diocese and commissioned and oversaw the construction of a chapel named Our Lady of Light in 1873. A religious order called the Sisters of Loretto would maintain the chapel. It was here that in the 1800s seven nuns set up a school for girls, and when it was time, they built a chapel.
When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.
Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters’ prayers.
The stairway’s carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.
The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. It is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway’s construction. The wood used is not native to the southwestern US. The exact wood used to build the staircase has been confirmed to be a type of spruce which is not native to New Mexico and scientifically not identified anywhere else in the world.
The handrails were added later in 1887, and an iron bracket was later attached to a column to add additional support.
The design of the staircase still marvels engineers and architects today.
You must see them to be truly amazed. This is another instance that the picture doesn’t capture the marvel. A picture may be worth a thousand words but no words cover the wow of faith
An image of the original staircase before the railings were added.
Over the years many have flocked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including “Unsolved Mysteries” and the full-length movie titled “The Staircase”, starring William Petersen and Barbara Hershey.
Thanks be to God! I love this story… St. Joseph, pray for us! 🙏
OMG. I pray to be able to go see this staircase in person one day. I have read several articles on the staircase and seen the movie but would love to see them in person. I took an a believer that it was St. Joseph that built them. Thank you St. Joseph. 🙏