The Miraculous Staircase In 1873, the Sisters of Loretto who opened a girl’s academy in New Mexico wanted to build a new chapel (Chapel of Our Lady of Light). Skilled craftsmen and artisans were brought to help with the chapel.

Unfortunately, the architect died before access to the choir loft was built. Given the height of the loft (22ft above) and the small size of the chapel, a staircase would taken up too much floor space, thereby reducing the seating capacity to an unacceptably small level; using a ladder instead to ascend the loft would also be unsafe and unfitting. Mother Superior called many carpenters, but all said: "It can't be done". Finally, they advised to demolish the choir. The Sisters decided to entrust the difficulty to St Joseph instead and began a 9-day novena. On the 9th day, a grey-haired and bearded old man with a donkey and tool chest appeared at the Academy who offered to build the needed staircase, but under one condition: he be granted total privacy. Mother Superior gladly consented but she didn't ask his name. According to the Sisters, he used only a T-square, a saw and a hammer. They also saw pieces of wood soaking in basins, but no one knew how the wood got there, or saw anyone entering or leaving the chapel. The project took 3 months and the man vanished before he could be paid. Even the local lumber yards had no record of any wood being purchased for the project. The spiral stairway was left as a gift to the sisters. Consisting of 33 steps and two complete 360 degrees turns, with no central support! No nails, screws nor glue, only wooden pegs were used throughout. Architects and builders from all over the world never fail to marvel over how it was built with only a few basic tools. Not only by its architectural beauty and engineering design but the construction itself is said to be “impossible”. As some felt that it should have collapsed the first time it was used! Yet it has withstood daily use for over 100 years. The perfection of the stringers’ curves is also baffling; the wood is spliced along the sides of the stringers and each piece is perfectly curved. What is more, the wood used was not a native of New Mexico and is an unknown variety. After searching (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, the Sisters believe that it was St Joseph who built the staircase and it was an answer to their prayers. The staircase remains intact to this day.