Buying A Stairway to Heaven

By Colleen Walsh Fong

Sometimes there’s a little of the ridiculous mixed in with the wondrous. My favorite example of this is the so-called “Miraculous Staircase” of the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Approximately one quarter million people flock to the site on a yearly basis to get a gander at the staircase, which is the subject of three legendary mysteries. These are:

• The identity of its builder (some believe it was St. Joseph);
• The reason it can stay in place with no nails or visible means of support;
• The origin of the wood made to build it—it is not of the area.

As the story goes, the Sisters of Loretto founded a school in Santa Fe in 1852. In 1872 the Bishop of Santa Fe commissioned Our Lady of Light Chapel, to be placed in the sisters’ care. Building plans included no access to the second floor choir loft, and the chapel’s architect died of a gunshot wound before an access method was created.

The sisters prayed a novena (nine consecutive days of prayer or devotion) to St. Joseph, who was a carpenter, asking for divine intervention to solve their problem. At the devotion’s conclusion a stranger arrived at the chapel and assured the sisters he could build a staircase to the loft.

After three months of building in privacy, the stranger placed the staircase, made without any nails, and unattached by braces, and disappeared before he could be thanked. His sudden appearance at the novena’s end, mysterious building methods and sudden disappearance after installing the staircase led to the belief by many that St. Joseph answered the sisters’ prayers in person, and performed the miracle of building and positioning the staircase.

Whether divine or human, the stranger built a beautiful wooden, spiral staircase, 20 feet in height and in a helix. Later, a railing was added for safety.

Plausible explanations have been proffered for all aspects of the mystery:

• Nails were a rare commodity in 1877, and many carpenters used the hidden peg and dowel method evident in the staircase. Additionally, the staircase’s central spiral serves as a stringer that functions like a pole to provide support;
• The wood has been identified as spruce, although its acquisition method remains unknown;
• Two possible builders have been identified.
• In 1872 choir lofts were commonly accessed by ladders. The sisters, allegedly, feared their long and cumbersome habits would present a safety hazard when ascending or descending by ladder.

With reasonable explanations in hand, the bigger mystery may by why the Archdiocese of Santa Fe let such an architectural and historical gem leave its possession. The Gothic Revival chapel is loaded with enough pizazz to feel like a mini Notre Dame. Complete with buttresses, spires and French stained glass it’s tiny elegance warmed my heart. The answer to this mystery may lie in finance—maintenance costs often cause original owners of architectural gems, such as the Hearst Castle and The Biltmore Estate, to sell or donate the structures.

Which brings us to the ridiculous. The Loretto Chapel is now privately owned. A $3 admission is charged, and pamphlets about the staircase and the chapel may be bought in the gift shop visitors are obliged to visit in order to reach the exit. Rosaries, like the ones hanging upon the tree in the chapel’s courtyard, are also available there for purchase.

And, as so often happens around sacred, or once sacred landmarks, a whole cottage industry has popped up like strip malls around large suburban shopping malls. Vendors hawk everything from Mexican worry dolls, to purses, to cashmere scarves. (I got my pink plaid beauty for $13.) Every one gets into the act. Being a native of the windy city I zeroed right in on a cart selling Chicago-style hotdogs.

But, despite commercialization and the probable solutions to its mysteries, the Loretto Chapel of Santa Fe is a worthwhile stop to make when visiting that city.