Stairway To…Heaven?
Church architecture has often been used to evoke divinity and worship, from Notre Dame in Paris to the Basilica De La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. But this spiral flight of steps in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, might take the cake for the most miraculous holy mystery.
The Origins Of The Enigma
The chapel was planned by Projectus Mouly in the Gothic Revival style. It was a side project as he and his father helped construct the Saint Francis Cathedral nearby. His lack of attention led to one major oversight.
Camerafiend, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Famous Inspirations
The blueprints were based on the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, and feature buttresses and spirals as a visual theme. The chapel used sandstone sourced from nearby quarries, but the expenses spent on the chapel didn’t end there.
An Expensive Investment
There were some huge stained-glass windows brought to the site over the Santa Fe Trail all the way from France. All of this extravagance made the chapel a masterpiece. Except for one thing.
Daniel Vorndran / DXR, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
An Inaccessible Loft
The plans for the Loretto Chapel had a huge feature missing. It was initially designed to lead to the second level, the choir loft where songs of worship were performed. Adding a way to get up there wasn’t an easy, simple fix.
No One Could Help
They couldn’t call on Mouly, who was a victim in a terminal accident, or his father, who had returned to France. The original creators of the plan were completely unavailable—and the nuns' difficulties finding help extended beyond that.
karol m, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Seeking Answers For Their Problem
The sisters brought in carpenters and woodworkers. But none of them could find a solution that wouldn’t ruin the aesthetic of the building around it. Besides, there was barely any space to build one!
The Restrictions Of The Chapel
The space that a staircase would have to fit in was very small. Not only that, but it needed to ascend 20 feet into the air. The constraints made it almost impossible to come up with a solution.
MARELBU, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
An Unsatisfying Answer
Everyone they brought in suggested a ladder be used to reach the choir loft, but this wouldn’t do. It was unseemly and dangerous for the nuns to climb a ladder in their religious uniforms. It seemed like all hope for an easy ascent was lost.
Stanley Jones, Wikimedia Commons
Turning To Saintly Influence
There were no carpenters for the nuns to turn to, and no one else who could build them a staircase. All the nuns could do was pray. Specifically, pray to the patron saint of carpenters, St Joseph. That was when the miracles began.
A Novena For A Blessing
The nuns prayed for nine days. Supposedly, their prayers were answered on the ninth day. A mysterious man in shabby clothes came to the chapel, with only a donkey and his toolbox.
MARELBU, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
An Unanticipated—And Elusive—Answer To Their Problem
A surprising feat during the construction of the staircase was that the man used hand tools only—no electricity, and no fancy modern tools. But despite this, the techniques used with the hand tools were able to create something spectacular.
Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
A Man With A Conundrum Of A Legacy
He asked for nothing except privacy and hot water. He didn’t even ask for payment once the staircase was completed. And after he left, no one ever found him again. This only added to his mystery and the confusion around his finished product.
inkknife_2000, CC BY-SA 2.0 Wikimedia Commons
Seeking Out Their Savior
The nuns were so set on figuring out who the man was that they did something unexpected: they used the local newspaper to run an ad to try to find him. But even with that on their side, the man was in the wind.
User:brianrmurray, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Building A Following Of Curiosity
The woodworker has never been found, nor his identity revealed. Because of this, endless theories have spiraled out of the gaps in the details. Many have theorized about his identity, with some coming to a more divine conclusion than others.
BenFrantzDale~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
One Consistent Fact
The only detail everyone agrees on is that the stranger had to have been a master woodworker to create the stairs. Reba Weatherford, Loretto Heritage Center archivist—alongside many other sisters and Christian believers—is convinced it was the carpenter Saint Joseph himself.
A First Stab At His Identity
Historian and author Mary J Straw Cook claims the strange man was François-Jean “Frenchy” Rochas. The author claims the woodworker was a French farmer who emigrated to New Mexico in the 1880s. This theory has some interesting evidence to support it.
Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contrary Beliefs
Cook’s hypothesis is backed by a record stating a $150 cheque was issued to Rochas in 1881 in payment for some wood. But the payment came three years after Rochas would have completed the passage, which some say counters Cook’s hypothesis. Some have more mystical theories.
MARELBU, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lack Of Evidence
Weatherford disagrees with Cook’s evidence. They claim the cheque hasn’t been recorded in the chapel’s archive and that they don’t know “where [the evidence] exists”. The skepticism of a real life explanation continues.
MARELBU, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Another Voice In Opposition
Weatherford wasn’t the only one to find flaws in Cook’s theory. Political speechwriter John Clark posited the same fact as Weatherford—that there was no evidence in any of the logbooks that Rochas was hired to build the staircase.
John Phelan, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Layers Of The Mystery
The stairs are nicknamed the “Miraculous Stair”, and they lack a newel—a central support pole. The lack of a newel is part of why such confusion surrounds the divine structure. The details of its construction provide strong evidence for the sobriquet.
Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Allusions To The Lord
The spiral construction itself was shrouded in layers of questions. It had 33 steps—Jesus was crucified at the age of 33—and featured finely-crafted joinery and zero nails. But those paled in comparison to its final bizarre feature.
Unreal Artistic Qualities
The staircase makes a baffling two 360-degree turns. The wood of the structure curves artistically like a double helix up to the choir loft. This feature adds to the sense of mystery and divinity it provokes.
Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
An Unusual Material
The structure was made of spruce wood. The problem was that there were no spruce trees in the area, and no evidence of ordering any for the construction. But even more questions arose from subsequent investigations.
Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Wood From A Mysterious Source
Retired forester and wood technologist Forrest N Easley said he had never seen spruce wood like that which is used for the structure. Not in the whole world. He studied it for over a year and inferred that it was so singular that it be called “Loretto Spruce”.
MARELBU, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lost To Time
There’s a surprising suspicion as to why the type of wood can’t be found. This particular species of spruce might be extinct. That would explain why no one can find wood similar to that of the Loretto staircase.
MARELBU, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Long-Standing Monument
This staircase defies physics and one’s basic understanding of the world. Despite having no obvious supportive structures, it has managed to remain standing for over 100 years. Now, it’s closed to the public and preserved in the chapel-turned-museum.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
A Flawless Creation
All who have come to study the staircase have been left baffled by its seemingly magical construction. It has no obvious nails holding it all together, and no obvious seams for joinery. But that wasn’t the passage’s only quirk.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
By The Grace Of God
The woodworker who made it left out a shockingly important detail. The steps didn’t originally have handrails. This provided some additional difficulty ascending and descending to the loft, as the whole thing was a tripping hazard.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
Humans Take The Handrail
Barely a decade later, in 1887, the sisters had railings installed to allow them to safely use the steps. These, too, are stunningly made, with the central handrail spiraling in a tight coil from loft to floor.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
An Added Feature
They added an iron bracket to support the structure at the same time as the railing. This made the supportive mechanic of the stairs—coiling like a giant spring—a little more obvious than previously. But it still moves disconcertingly underfoot.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
The Strength Of Engineering
Despite being a fairly shaky ascent, the construction could support an astonishing amount of weight. In 1959, it held 20 choir singers positioned around the steps—a true example of what can be done with thoughtful engineering.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
A Compliment To The Creator
Several woodworkers have commented on the quality of the work that went into the structure. In a Washington Post article by Tim Carter, he says, “To create a staircase like this using modern tools would be a feat”.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
Proof Of The Divine’s Creation—Of Math
Another carpenter, interviewed for the book Mysterious New Mexico by Ben Radford, had more praise for the structure. They said, “The theory of how to do it, to bend it around in a two-turn spiral, that’s some difficult arithmetic there”.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
Resolute In Its Strength As A Symbol Of God
The chapel and its steps were used every day until 1968, when it was converted to a private museum. Visitors usually consist of pilgrims and school groups, and sometimes, it's used as a wedding venue.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
A Catalyst For Curious Minds
The construction inspired songs, a book, a comic, and even a film called The Staircase (1998). Not only that, but Weatherford reports the Loretto Heritage Center receives many notes from documentarians and filmmakers seeking to document the structure’s story.
BWE Distribution, The Staircase (1998)
Challenging The Holy Spirit
Richard Lindsley, the curator of the chapel museum, challenges anyone to disprove his belief that the steps are a miracle. He believes that he’ll find out the truth when he finally meets God. But some have critiques for this stance.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
A Scientific Perspective
Tim Carter’s column on the steps doesn’t follow the divine theories others have about the structure. The woodworker states the owners weren’t listening to the architects, engineers, and craftsmen they spoke to. He also made a stunning statement.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
Physics And Math Can Be Magic
He said, “There is nothing miraculous holding this staircase in position. It's subject to the same laws of physics as any staircase”. He continued to disprove Lindsley’s comments.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
Standard Building Practice
The woodworker described how weight is distributed on normal constructions, and states that the only difference is that the Loretto steps have been “twisted into a helix… It’s that simple. It’s not a miracle at all”.
The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel, Hoosier Tours
Marvelous By A Divine And Mathematical Hand
Even so, the visual effect of the Loretto staircase has a miraculous effect. The steps look stunning and elusive in their creation, despite having a reasonable explanation. Because of this, the stairs will continue to be the incomprehensible enigma of the Loretto Chapel.
You May Also Like:
The Dark History Of Notre-Dame Cathedral
44 Mysterious Ancient Stone Circles That Defy Explanation
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}