The Mystery Behind the Loretto Chapel Staircase

In the old Spanish town of Santa Fe in New Mexico, there is a beautiful Catholic chapel known as the Loretto Chapel. The chapel’s history begins in 1873 when the Sisters of Loretto managed to coordinate its construction. They hired a French architect to design a gothic structure reminiscent of Bishop Jean Baptiste Lamy’s favorite Parisian chapel, the Sainte-Chapelle, however by 1878 the architect had passed away without being able to design an access to the second floor choir loft. As a result of the chapel’s small size, a normal staircase would have been non-economical in terms of space as it would have reduced the chapel’s seating capacity. Other carpenters were contacted to find an issue to this odd dilemma, however, none of them managed to find a feasible way to build a staircase in such a small space and rather suggested that they use a ladder to access the choir loft.

Old Image with the Loretto Chapel in the middle. - Taken from the Loretto Chapel Website.

Seeing that man could not find a proper solution, they began seeking assistance from the divine. It is said that the Sisters prayed a novena, or nine consecutive days of prayer, to their patron saint of carpenters – St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ and the husband of the Virgin Mary. On the ninth day of prayer, it is said that a mysterious man riding a donkey and carrying a hammer and carpenter’s square had arrived to the chapel and offered to help with building a staircase. This man did not give a name and he told them he would build them a staircase on the condition that he be alone when he did so. The sisters agreed to his conditions and not too long after, a beautiful spiral staircase with two 360 degree turns, built using wooden pegs only and no nails as well as wood that was not local to the area, was completed and this mysterious carpenter thus disappeared without requesting compensation for his services. Amazed by this miraculous occurrence, it is said that the Sisters of Loretto believed that St. Joseph himself came down from heaven and built the staircase.

The Loretto Chapel Staircase today.

François-Jean Rochas' obituary from the Santa Fe Daily New Mexican Newspaper (January 05, 1895) - Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Others state that a French craftsman named François-Jean Rochas, who belonged to a secret society of carpenters, was the man who built the staircase. In the chapel’s financial ledger, he was listed as being paid for wood, and he indeed died in New Mexico after being shot in the chest at his Dog Creek cabin and he is currently buried at Our Lady of the Light Catholic Cemetery. An obituary also reportedly put him as the builder of the famed staircase. While many would be so quick to dismiss this mystery from having any divine intervention, perhaps we can find the truth by coming to the middle. What if God actually sent Mr. Rochas himself to be at the chapel specifically during their moment of need? That is a good question that we can ask ourselves. Later on iron rails were added to it and the staircase still stands today as a part of the chapel – as a testament to the amazing divine and mysterious story of its origin.

For further reading, visit the Loretto Chapel website (https://www.lorettochapel.com/our-story) and read François-Jean Rochas' Find-A-Grave entry for more on his life - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8401944/fran%C3%A7ois-jean-rochas