The Helix Staircase of the Loretto Chapel

Education, History, Mysteries, Religious 4 Minutes

In the center of Sante Fe, NM stands a former Roman Catholic Church, known as the Loretto chapel, that was constructed in the popular Gothic Revival style by French architect Antoine Mouly. To Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy’s dismay, Mouly didn’t live to see the chapel completed. The renowned architect passed away when the chapel was nearly done, leaving the chapel unfinished.

Despite the beauty and craftsmanship of the chapel, it lacked a critical component, a staircase. As the story goes, the chapel was completed in 1878, but there was no way to get to the choir loft, which is 20 feet off the ground. The Sisters believed this to be a test of faith and set out to find a new carpenter to finish the work promptly.

Legend of the Loretto Chapel Staircase Miracle

According to legend, which has since been made into a movie called “The Staircase” (1998), the nuns didn’t want the staircase to be big because it would take up too much space, so they went to get advice from the local carpenters.

Unfortunately, they met with many carpenters, none of whom could provide a solution that worked for the Sisters. Some said it couldn’t be done, while others quoted an outrageous price. The only option was to use a ladder, which was deemed inappropriate due to the sister’s attire.

In 1880, the Sisters started praying to the patron saint of carpenters, St. Joseph. They asked for a solution to their dilemma and prayed for over a week. According to the historical account, on the 9th day, a man arrived on his mule with some tools. He revealed to the Sisters that he was a carpenter by trade, and they eagerly invited him in.

This carpenter was unlike any who had come before him, and shortly after viewing the problem, he admitted that putting a staircase in was possible, even ones that wouldn’t take up too much space or be an eyesore.

But he asked to be alone in the chapel for three months and, with only simple tools including a saw, T-square, and a hammer, he built the ‘miraculous’ staircase. It is a spiral staircase making two complete 360 degrees rotations but without using a central pole and without using any nails, only wooden pegs.

The bannister of the staircase is perfectly curved, a remarkable accomplishment considering the basic tools that were used. The shape of the helix is not a stable weight-supporting structure, and without the middle column it shouldn’t be able to withstand the weight of people using the staircase.

When the man finished the staircase, he left without asking for a cent. The nuns tried to find him but they could not. They did not know who he was or where he got the wood. Ten years later the railing was added to the staircase by Phillip August Heasch for safety reasons.

The order decided to honor the carpenter’s deed with a banquet, but when it was time to feast, they could not find him. He had disappeared without a trace; he did not identify himself during his time there or ask for payment. Because his identity remains a secret, the Sisters believed him to be St. Joseph, answering their prayers. The number of steps is of religious significance because it was Jesus’ age during his crucifixion. This realization only further convinced the Sisters and fueled the story that St. Joseph had come to their rescue.

With the staircase finished, the chapel was finally complete, but the mystery of its construction was impossible to ignore, and many pondered how the carpenter accomplished the job. The manager of the privately owned chapel (1991-2006), Richard Lindsley, took a piece of wood from the staircase and sent it for analysis. When the results came back, they showed that it was spruce, but of an unknown subspecies. This specific wood was very strong with dense and square molecules – which is something that you usually find in trees that grow very slowly in very cold places like Alaska.

However, there was no such wood in the area and no local trees grow in the Alpine tundra in the surrounding area. The closest place that he would find this density in trees was in Alaska, but of course back then transport was not the same as it is now and wood was not transported over such long distances.

Were the Stairs Created by a Man from a French Secret Society?

Santa Fe New Mexican offers an alternative explanation for the amazing staircase. It’s said that when historian Mary J. Straw Cook researched the stairs for a book she was writing, she “found information in an 1881 nun’s daybook that a man named Rochas was paid for wood.” Francois-Jean Rochas, an alleged “member of a French secret society of highly skilled craftsmen and artisans called the Compagnons, which had existed since the Middle Ages” has been named as the skilled woodworker who apparently “came to the U.S. with the purpose of building the staircase with wood shipped from France.”

When a group of stair-building professionals convened at the Loretto Chapel a few years ago to see the staircase they were shocked at the beauty, design, and engineering of the stairs. A couple of their comments on the workmanship after analyzing the stairs are:

“We all like to think we create creative stair designs and nice curved staircases, but to think how they did it that long ago and still attain the same quality is breathtaking” and

Later, Cook found a newspaper article mentioning Mr. Rochas and that he was a skilled woodworker who built the staircase. Rochas was a member of a secret French society of skilled artisans known as the Compagnons and had come to the U.S. to design the Santa Fe staircase specifically; the wood came from France.

Even with all the advances in technology and engineering, no one can determine how the staircase was built. The stairs are a beautiful and mysterious element of the Loretto Chapel, regardless of the facts around its construction.

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Published by NebraskaFilly

Army veteran (1976-1979), retired with entirely too much time on my hands

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202 thoughts on “The Helix Staircase of the Loretto Chapel”

        1. being bankrolled might be a problem, no? and getting established and up and running will take expertise. considering how close the elections are…that could mean a conservative voice is silenced at a critical time. unless this is something the trump community can facilitate?

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          1. Oh, I think Tucker has PLENTY of $$$, both his own and others who would back him in a nanosecond. He won’t be silenced – the DCNF is basically his – he started it.

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  4. TUCKER IS LEAVING FOX
    Breaking News. Fox stock down 6%. Stay posted!!!!

    JIMYCHANGA
    APR 24, 2023
    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Tucker says he’s not running for President. We’ll see…

    “I have zero ambition, not just politically, but in life,” Carlson told Smith, the co-founder of Semafor and a former New York Times media columnist. “My ambition is to write my script by 8 p.m. … I don’t want power, I’ve never wanted power — I’m annoyed by things, I want them to change — but I’ve never been motivated by a desire to control people.” -Tucker (sounds like he’d be perfect)”

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  7. 42 yr old “alien migrant” tried to pass himself off as 17 yr old in UK. fortunately his fingerprints were on file as a terrorist. he is however being held at a 3-star hotel while he appeals.
    FTA
    The British government will reportedly introduce mandatory age checks for illegal migrants who claim to be children as a migrant claiming to be 17 to better his chances at receiving asylum was revealed to be a 42-year-old former ISIS fighter with a full beard.

    In a concession to the right wing of his party, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reportedly agreed to amend the upcoming Illegal Migration Bill to require that migrants claiming to be minors undergo physical checks, such as x-rays of teeth and hands or MRI scans of knee and collar bones to determine whether or not they are in reality an adult, the Times of London reported.

    The issue of illegals claiming to be children in order to better their chances of receiving asylum has been a longstanding issue in Britain, with an average of 355 alleged child migrants being exposed as adults between 2012 and 2020, even before mandatory age tests. Campaigners have long been calling for tests — many European nations have used them for years to detect fraud, as child migrants understandably receive preferential treatment — but the idea has been repeatedly rejected as somehow inhumane.

    To take advantage of the system as it stands, it is common practice for boat migrants to ditch their identity documents before entering Britain. This frustrates attempts to deport them back to their home countries, and therefore border officials have so far mostly had to go on the word of the migrants themselves as to how old they are.

    Under the new legislation, unaccompanied child migrants will still be prohibited from being deported from the UK, however, the Home Secretary will be empowered to remove them once they reach their 18th birthday.

    The move to introduce age checks comes as a former ISIS fighter who crossed the English Channel illegally was revealed to have falsely attempted to portray himself as a 17-year-old boy, while he was in reality 42.

    The Iraqi national, known only as ‘AJ’, is believed to have been the oldest known illegal migrant to cast himself as a minor and despite showing clear signs of being a middle-aged man, had been placed in a child migrant facility for about a week before his lies were exposed, the Mail on Sunday reported.

    At present, the ex-ISIS combatant is being housed in a three-star hotel among other migrants while he appeals the order to deport him, all at taxpayer expense.

    Border Farce: Over 50 Migrants over 30 Years Old Registered as ‘Children’https://t.co/j5oA9XR8JZ

    — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 19, 2022

    The MoS reported that he had first come on the radar of American and British forces in Iraq in 2006 when he was registered as a terrorist, for which he had his fingerprints logged in international databases.

    Commenting on the revelations, a security source told the paper: “This is one of the most extraordinary cases we’ve ever encountered. It’s common for adult migrants to claim they are children, but we think this is the oldest person to make that claim.

    “The brazenness of his claims was mind-blowing. He initially said he had fled to Britain alone after his farmer parents abandoned him, but his story had holes in it.”

    The source went on to reveal that there were clear signs of the Iraqi illegal being an adult, such as his tattoos being so old that they had begun to fade. The militant migrant also sported a full-grown beard and is said to have had clear wrinkles around his eyes and forehead.

    “When we checked him on the Eurodac system, his true identity popped up, and his name was red-listed, meaning he is considered a potential threat to national security. He is known to have been part of ISIS in Iraq and took part in terrorism campaigns. We are now trying our hardest to get him out of the country,” the source added.

    A Home Office source said: “This is another egregious example of why we must stop the boats – we need to secure our borders, crack down on this problem and detain and swiftly remove those who come here illegally.”

    Number of Fake ‘Child’ Migrants in Britain More Than Triples in a Year https://t.co/KEmgzVV2At

    — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 30, 2021

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/04/24/uk-to-introduce-age-checks-for-child-migrants-as-42-year-old-bearded-isis-fighter-claimed-to-be-17/

    Liked by 1 person

  9. fibs making agents signing NDA is unconstitutional without whistleblower protections
    FTA
    “These accountability measures are critically important because they ensure whistleblowers know they have the right to disclose government fraud, waste, and abuse to Congress and Inspectors General,” Grassley and Johnson wrote in a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Federal agencies cannot conceal their wrongdoing behind illegal nondisclosure agreements and related documents.”

    The senators are demanding information about the FBI’s specific treatment of Friend and, more broadly, how many times the agency had employees sign nondisclosure forms without the anti-gag provision as required.

    The senators also wrote a letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz to inform him of “additional acts of apparent wrongdoing by the FBI” and ask for his office to “investigate the FBI’s alleged retaliation against former Special Agent Friend.”

    “The FBI is not above the law, and Congress needs to hold it accountable,” Tristan Leavitt, president of the nonprofit watchdog Empower Oversight, said after the senators sent their letters to Justice Department officials. “Congress cannot allow agencies to thumb its nose at its power of the purse. Those who blow the whistle deserve to be protected, not punished and silenced.”

    https://justthenews.com/government/congress/senators-demand-answers-fbi-agents-forced-sign-nondisclosures-falsely-stopping

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  11. Hmmm….sooo many options that Tucker has at his disposal…..wonder what Laura Loomer is doing these days??? Not to mention Emerald Robinson….
    From SD’s article:

    History Repeating
    April 24, 2023 12:13 pm
    Que up the J6 tapes. If Tucker can harness glen Grenwald and Laura Logan, game on!

    Patience
    April 24, 2023 12:22 pm
    Reply to History Repeating
    OMG.
    -O’Keefe

    Liked by 1 person

  12. “Europe’s elite is coming round to Viktor Orbán’s way of thinking—Europe is changing its tune: Now the much-maligned fence on Hungary’s border is becoming an example for all, writes Magyar Hírlap columnist Zsolt Sütő-Nagy”
    April 24, 2023
    editor: REMIX NEWS author: ZSOLT SÜTŐ-NAGY via: MAGYAR HÍRLAP

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Long-term forecasts have been expecting strong winds in Europe for months, and the persistent northerly flow that has long affected the continent has been slowly replaced by southerly and easterly currents, with occasional, yet powerful, westerly gusts. This is expected to continue until the European Parliament elections in the middle of next year and the subsequent power negotiations.

    The change in wind direction has just been confirmed by the “chief meteorologist,” Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party parliamentary group. The German politician, who has a keen sense of the current changes, recently said: “If there is no other way to stop illegal immigration, we must be prepared to build fences.”

    This was not always the case, as eight years ago he took a stand in the name of the “Willkommenskultur” promulgated by Angela Merkel and was so anti-borders that he even invoked “Mutti” (Merkel’s German nickname of “mother”) and directly addressed Donald Trump in a Twitter post in 2017 when he said, “We don’t build walls, we want to build bridges.” Weber, however, was disappointed with “Mutti” because, despite being the People’s Party’s top candidate in the last European Parliament elections, he was not able to run because Viktor Orbán and Emmanuel Macron, who he often criticized, found someone else better suited to lead the European Commission.

    Although the then-crowned Ursula von der Leyen has since been a disappointment, and corruption cases have not been far from her mind, the procedure of four years ago could be instructive for her: She came in first place as an almost unknown running against Weber, who had seemed to be the sure winner. He was lobbying this week for the European People’s Party coalition to include him as its top candidate next year, but it is not enough for him to be acceptable at home because Europe seems to have had enough of Germany dictating the agenda. Meloni’s Italy has already made it clear that it wants to limit migration, and French President Emmanuel Macron has been even more spectacular in his opposition to the German line in recent weeks.

    Sometimes critical of the Hungarian prime minister himself, Macron has realized that he has nothing to lose, as the French constitution says he cannot be president for a third time and so far he is only remembered for his yellow vest and pension reform protests, which are hardly a great mark in terms of his place in European history.

    In a bid to project a more positive image, he struck an unusually friendly tone with China and then said that Europe should look after its own interests and its leaders should work to create autonomy. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was the loudest in her protestations; she did not recognize the shifting winds and said there was no place for such dissent in the EU. Macron, however, is not to be so easily swayed and is now going further, joining forces with the Chinese to bring the parties stuck in the quagmire of the Russia-Ukraine war to the negotiating table this year, according to Bloomberg.

    All this in a single week: Border fences, the protection of European interests and a ceasefire to prevent the war from escalating are no longer the devil’s work, and after Meloni, Weber, and Macron have now backed Viktor Orbán. If this continues, by next May, the mainstream will be behind the Hungarian prime minister, who had previously been dismissed by Europe’s elite as anti-human, authoritarian and pro-Putin.”

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  18. “Those amazing undulatus asperatus clouds were captured over Gorham, New Hampshire, yesterday… They didn’t have the amazing northern lights but instead crazy wavy clouds…”


    “Same cloud formation over Houston, Texas; Yesterday, too…”

    “I will not laugh at the name. I will not laugh at the name. I will not laugh at the name… St. Cummianus in the woman’s bathroom of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Newark, NJ)…”

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Liked by 1 person





  20. “Crowds enjoying a live performance at Disneyland in California were left stunned on Saturday night when a giant animatronic dragon caught fire. Videos online show Maleficent, the 45ft (13m) fire-breathing dragon, quickly being engulfed in flames, as firefighters try to control the blaze. It happened during Fantasmic, a live performance featuring gravity-defying water displays, pyrotechnics and Mickey Mouse (usually) saving the day. No-one was injured in the fire.”

    Liked by 1 person

  24. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

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