Have you heard the tale of a staircase built seemingly by divine intervention? Right here before us stands the Loretto Chapel. It is a former Roman Catholic church in Santa Fe. Now, it serves as a privately owned museum and wedding chapel. But its history is entwined with a mystery that continues to captivate visitors from around the globe.
In 1873, the Sisters of Loretto commissioned a chapel for their girls’ school, Loretto Academy. Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy suggested they employ French architects Antoine Mouly and his son Projectus. Projectus Mouly became the main architect. He based his Gothic Revival design on the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The Loretto Chapel featured spires, buttresses, and stained glass windows imported from France via the Santa Fe Trail.
The chapel was built from locally quarried sandstone. It took five years to complete. In 1878, the Loretto Chapel was officially consecrated. However, there was a problem. The chapel lacked a way to access the choir loft 20 feet above.
Legend says that the Sisters consulted multiple builders. None could devise a workable solution due to the confined space. In desperation, the Sisters prayed for nine straight days to St. Joseph. He is the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth day, a mysterious stranger appeared. He offered to build a staircase. He worked alone using only simple hand tools. Afterward, he disappeared without collecting pay or revealing his identity.
The finished staircase was an impressive feat of carpentry. It ascended 20 feet without any obvious support. It has no newel or central pole. The Sisters of Loretto believed its construction to be a miracle. They thought the stranger was St. Joseph himself. As the story spread, the staircase became one of Santa Fe’s most famous attractions.
The staircase in the Loretto Chapel is helix-shaped. It makes two full turns. It is built mostly of wood. The staircase is held together by wooden pegs. There is no glue, nails, or other hardware. The inner stringer consists of seven wooden segments joined with pegs. The outer stringer has nine segments. The wood is a type of spruce. It is not native to New Mexico. It has not been scientifically identified anywhere else in the world.
There are 33 stairs. This is the age of Christ at his death. The handrails were added later in 1887. An iron bracket was also added to a column for additional support. The staircase is supported by an inner wood stringer.
The staircase was built sometime between 1877 and 1881. The architect, Projectus Mouly, died unexpectedly in 1879. This may explain the lack of access to the choir loft.
In the early 2000s, amateur historian Mary Jean Cook theorized that the builder was François-Jean “Frenchy” Rochas. He was a reclusive rancher and carpenter from France. A Santa Fe New Mexican article from 1895 noted that Rochas built the staircase. The Sisters’ logbook stated that they paid Rochas $150 for “wood” in 1881.
Despite the mystery, the Loretto Chapel staircase remains a remarkable work of art. It showcases incredible skill. It defies conventional understanding of physics. Whether a miracle or a masterpiece of carpentry, the staircase continues to inspire awe and wonder.
The Loretto Chapel was used by the students and nuns of Loretto Academy until the school closed in 1968. Since the 1960s, the stairs have been mostly closed to the public since the chapel became a privately run museum.