The Miraculous Staircase of The Loretto Chapel, Santa Fe, NM
A few days ago I started reading a book by Jeannette Walls called "Half Broke Horses". It's the true story of a girl, (Ms. Wall's grandmother), born in the Hondo Valley of New Mexico, who in 1914, at the age of 13, was sent to boarding school at the Sisters of Loretto Academy of Our Lady of the Light in Santa Fe.
As I was reading, I suddenly realized that I have been there, and better still, I had photos! The story went on to talk about the 'Miraculous Staircase' in the chapel, and that was what triggered my memory. I Googled it for more information, and this is what I found.
This school for girls was opened in the dusty Santa Fe frontier town in 1853, but at that time, there was no chapel.
In 1872, the building of a convent chapel for the Sisters of Loretto, to be named Our Lady of Light Chapel, was commissioned. The builder of the chapel died suddenly, before a stairway had been constructed to the choir loft. A regular stairway would be too large for the little chapel, and the sisters felt a ladder would be too dangerous. So they prayed to St. Joseph for intercession.
As the story goes, after nine days of praying, a stranger arrived looking for work. He told the nuns he would build the staircase, but that he required total privacy. So, for 3 months, he was locked in the chapel. Then, suddenly, he was gone, never having collected his pay. No one knew where the lumber came from, no one had seen lumber delivered.
The staircase which makes two 360 degree spirals, rises 20 feet, and has no visible means of support. It was made using wooden pegs, and has 33 steps.
The sisters offered a reward for the man's identity, but no one came forward.
It was considered a miracle, and the sisters suspected it was St. Joseph himself who built their staircase.
The mystery of the Miraculous Staircase was solved in the 1990's by an author named Mary Jean Straw Cook. In researching her novel about the chapel, she discovered a notice of the death of "Frenchy" Rochas in an 1895 New Mexico newspaper. He was named in the article as the builder of "the handsome staircase in the Loretto Chapel". Francois-Jean Rochas was an expert woodworker who emigrated to Santa Fe from France about the time the staircase was built.
The rails were not added to the staircase until 1887. (Question: How would this staircase without rails be less dangerous than a ladder?)
The Chapel
Comments(42)