Miraculous Staircase, Santa Fe New Mexico

We made a stop at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The church was built in 1878 as part of an all-girls Catholic school. During construction, the architect passed away before completing a staircase to the choir loft, which sat 20 feet high. The nuns tried to hire a carpenter to build the stairs, but because of the limited space and the height, no one could figure out how to design a staircase that would work.

So, the sisters prayed a nine-day novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth day, a mysterious man arrived with only a donkey and a few simple tools. He offered to build the staircase—and what he created is now known as the Miraculous Staircase.

The staircase has 33 steps and makes two complete 360-degree turns, yet it has no central support column. It relies only on the bottom step for support and was built without the use of nails or glue. The craftsmanship is absolutely stunning. Because of its uniqueness and unexplained engineering, the staircase is considered a miracle.

Once the carpenter finished the job, he disappeared without a trace. No one knew his name, and he never asked for or received payment. Some believe it was St. Joseph himself who answered their prayers.

Although the staircase is now closed off to the public for preservation—being over 100 years old—it’s still standing strong inside the chapel. Seeing it in person was incredible. The woodwork is just beautiful. I had seen the 2014 movie The Staircase, which tells this very story, and I remembered the man arriving with a donkey—but at the time, I didn’t realize it was a real place in the U.S. or that I’d ever get to visit it myself.

It was totally awesome. Even Janet was amazed.