Girlawhirl found herself in Loretto Chapel - a picturesque chapel featuring an altar, pews and stained glass windows. But the special treat inside this 19^th century house of worship is what dominates the view: a wooden staircase that winds its way up to the choir loft making two complete 360 degree turns. Referred to by locals as "The Miraculous Staircase," it was constructed without any nails and no central or exterior support system.

When the chapel was completed in 1878, a ladder was the only way to access the choir loft 22 feet up. However the nuns who oversaw the chapel and the adjoining girls' school were afraid to climb it. A normal staircase would have taken up too much space in the tiny chapel. According to the legend, the Sisters of Loretto prayed a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth day - the last of the novena - a man arrived at the chapel offering to build a staircase. The history of the staircase - piped through the chapel as Girlawhirl took in the incredible craftsmanship - says the carpenter used only primitive tools and hot water to make the wood pliable. When the carpenter completed the staircase six months later, he disappeared without requesting payment or leaving his name. It's said the nuns even ran an ad in the local paper searching for him, but he never responded. Some believed the carpenter was St. Joseph himself.

But the mysteries behind the staircase don't end there. Supposedly even modern architects are puzzled by its construction. There's even talk that some of the materials used in it were not indigenous to Santa Fe - though without tests that can't be confirmed. Since its construction, a railing and outside supports have been added to preserve the structure, but Girlawhirl finds it no less amazing.

Today Loretto Chapel is a privately run museum (it was informally deconsecrated in 1971). But Girlawhirl is happy she can still take a look at a purported miracle firsthand.

Click here for more information on the Loretto staircase.

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Sep 19, 2005:

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