THE STAIRCASE

The chapel at Sisters of Loretto in Santa Fe, NM is a must see attraction. The above picture and following text is taken from StanDeyo.com

ORIGINAL CAPTION: Two mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel: the identity of its builder and the physics of its construction.

At the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail stands the Loretto Chapel. Inside the Gothic structure is the staircase referred to as miraculous, inexplicable, marvelous and is sometimes called St. Joseph’s Staircase. The stairway confounds architects, engineers and master craftsmen. It makes over two complete 360º turns, stands 20’ tall and has no center support. It rests solely on its base and against the choir loft. The two railings form a double helix. Risers for the 33 steps are all of the same height. Made of an apparently extinct wood species, it was constructed with only square wooden pegs, without glue or nails. It is reported that the mysterious carpenter used only a T square, his hammer and a saw.

Its History:

It began over 125 years ago. The Sisters of Loretto, brought to Santa Fe by Bishop Lamy to teach the people, needed a school and a chapel. Mexican carpenters completed the school and then plans were made to build a chapel.

Because Bishop Lamy was from France, he wanted the Sisters to have a chapel designed in the same style as the Sainte Chapelle in Paris.

French and Italians masons went to work on the chapel, and although there were some financial worries, the chapel progressed without difficulty and with the aid of prayers by the Sisters to Joseph, the carpenter saint.

It wasn't until the very last stage, that the terrible design error was revealed. There was no way to get from the chapel to the choir loft, which was exceptionally high, and there was no room for ordinary stairs to be built.

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.

For those not fond of open heights, imagine the staircase as it was originally built – and used – without the posts or railing – just the stairs. In the film, the stairs look to be about 5' wide, but in reality they are less than three. It would be a test of faith just for the choir to mount them...