THIS is a true story of an event that took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
And it has puzzled many people since it happened in 1878.
It has been described as a miracle or a mystery.
Either way, the only mystery surrounding it are the facts of what took place … the evidence is there for all to see, and more than quarter of a million people visit and view it each year.
In 1610, the Spanish founded a town and called it La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Assisi (Royal City of the Holy Faith of St Francis of Assisi). Today, it’s known as Santa Fe.
The town was inhabited by Spanish, Mexicans and native Indians, and was under Spanish control until Mexico captured and ruled it for 25 years. America’s victory in the Mexican War resulted in this area being ceded to the US in 1848, which heralded an influx of different nationalities, who brought a varied and rich culture to the then small town.
Santa Fe was and is famous for its relationship with the cowboy and the cattle herds that were driven along the old Santa Fe Trail to the railheads, where the cattle would be sold and transported eastwards. At the end of that trail stands the Loretto Chapel.
In 1850, the newly-appointed bishop of New Mexico, Jean Baptiste Lamy, began writing letters to the religious orders requesting help to promote religion and set up an educational system in the region.
He said: “I have 6,000 Catholics and 300 Americans.” His first positive response came from the Loretto sisters. This order was founded in Kentucky by Rev Charles Nerinckx in 1812 and named Friends of Mary. They would later be renamed the Sisters of Loretto at the foot of the cross.
In 1852, a mother superior and six sisters left Kentucky to make the long journey, which would take them across Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas to New Mexico and on to Santa Fe.
Along the way, they were struck by cholera.
The mother superior died and another sister was so ill that she had to return home. The five remaining sisters arrived in Santa Fe, where they opened the Academy of Our Lady of Light in 1853.
The school soon exceeded expected numbers, and further groups of sisters arrived in the next two years.
By then, the school was a square block of ten buildings with 300 pupils.
Bishop Lamy brought French architect Antoine Mouly and his son Projectus to Santa Fe to design and construct St Francis Cathedral, which took ten years to complete.
On the bishop’s suggestion, the nuns approached Mouly to design and build their dream chapel. In Paris, Mouly was involved in the renovation of Sainte-Chapelle, and it was on this building that he based his design for the new Loretto Chapel.
The sisters pooled their family inheritances to finance the $30,000 required for the building of this stunning Gothic chapel.
A site was purchased in 1873 and construction began. Stone for the chapel was taken from quarries around the area.
Sandstone for the walls and porous volcanic stone for the ceiling were transported to the site by wagons.
The ornate stained glass was purchased in Paris from the Dubois studio in 1786, and it would travel by ship along with the high altar and stations of the cross to New Orleans, then on by covered wagon over the old Santa Fe Trail to its destination.
Although there would be many additions during the following years, the chapel was completed in 1878 and, as with the academy, was named in honour of Our Lady of Light. It was 25 feet wide, 75 long and 85 feet high.
However, on completion, it was discovered that there was no access to the choir loft, which was 22 feet above ground level.
Several local carpenters were consulted, but none could come up with a solution that would be inconspicuous or that that would not take up too much ground space in the small chapel. All agreed that a ladder would be the only answer.
This did not suit the mindset of the nuns, which was set on a staircase. It is said that in an attempt to find a solution to their problem, the sisters decided to pray a nine-day novena to Saint Joseph, patron saint of carpenters.
On the ninth and final day of the novena, a knock came on the convent door which, when answered, found a greyhaired man on a donkey with a chest full of tools looking for work. He asked to speak with the mother superior and he offered to build their staircase. But there was one proviso: the mother superior would never disclose the name of the craftsman.
Mother Magdalene instructed her nuns that the man was never to be questioned or spoken too, and under no circumstance should he be interfered with or bothered while carrying out his work.
The mother superior swore herself to secrecy, which she never revoked, not even on her death bed, where she still refused to reveal his identity.
The stranger set to work, the nuns watching from a distance puzzled by the fact that the only tools the man seemed to use were a hammer, a saw and a T-square.
They noted that when he was steeping the timber in tubs of hot water that no glue or nails were used. It took just six months for the craftsman to complete the staircase. He informed the mother superior when his work was finished.
And just as he had appeared, he promptly disappeared without a trace. He received no payment, nor did he seek any.
He was gone so quickly there was not even time to thank him for his efforts.
When the nuns eventually inspected his work, they were absolutely astonished.
He had created and built a magnificent, perfectly fitting, unobtrusive, elegant spiral staircase.
As observed, the man had used no nails or glue, and although the design was modern, he had used the ancient technique of joining the beams with wooden pegs.
The staircase had two complete 360-degree turns and it truly is a work of excellence.
The nuns searched for the craftsman, going as far as to advertise in the local papers.
But no trace of him was ever found. No-one has ever been able to identify the builder of the staircase.
Rumours soon circulated around Santa Fe that the craftsman was St Joseph himself, who had answered the sisters’ novena prayers.
It soon became known as the miraculous staircase, with visitors from surrounding states thronging to see the magnificent work. Architects, carpenters and others wondered who exactly the craftsman was and where he had purchased his materials.
Every supplier and lumber yard in New Mexico was approached and questioned but no-one could shed any light on the subject. The searchers agreed on one thing – the wood used in the staircase was not native to the United States.
Visitors from the Middle East claim it was from their area, but proof of this has not been established, although it is possible. Some maintain it is spruce, but cannot say which of the ten varieties it is.
The design was ahead of its time and some of its considerations still confound the experts.
The structure is 22 feet high with 33 steps (the same as Christ’s age at his crucifixion, which fuels the miracle beliefs of the locals) and two 360-degree turns. It is held together with nothing but wooden pegs and, even more puzzling, with no support centre to hold it up.
The common belief is that the whole structure should have collapsed when the first person set foot on it, yet it is still there, as solid as when it was first erected.
When it was built, the staircase had no railing, so some of the nuns were nervous of using it. Some years later, Phillip August Hesch added a railing to make it safer.
Later still, it was pinned to supports on both sides. Even today, experts from all over the world who come to view this masterpiece are uncertain as to how the structure did not collapse, but they never fail to marvel at the work.
This story has been the subject of a TV episode on Unsolved Mysteries and the 1998 TV film The Staircase. The academy closed in 1968 and was put up for sale.
The chapel was formally deconsecrated as a Catholic church in 1971, when it was sold. It is now a private museum but is also used for weddings. It is still open to tourists, and attracts more than 250,000 visitors each year.