Lecturer’s report for May, 2021, by Greg Brown

The Loretto Chapel Miraculous Staircase

How is your devotion to St. Joseph going? By now you probably see that that is the theme for the year 2021. The story of the Miraculous Staircase is another story about St. Joseph. The little Sisters of Loretto had a new chapel in Santa Fe, NM in 1878, but for some reason they did not have a stairway to the choir loft, only a ladder. In 1879 a mysterious man arrived to build the spiral staircase after the sisters implored the Lord through a novena to St. Joseph. The mysterious man asked to be left strictly alone. Using only simple tools and no nails, an amazing spiral staircase was built with no hand rails. There is no visible means of support. The man left as mysteriously as he had arrived.

The hand rail was added in 1887. Can you imagine climbing those spiraling stairs without a hand rail? I guess the mysterious man was not so concerned about government regulations back then.

Over a century later a botanist analyzed the wood that the staircase is made of. He determined that it is of an unknown variety of spruce. Yet another mystery! I have also read that the spruce is a variety from the Holy Land.

As you might have already imagined, the little sisters expected results from their novena to St. Joseph. They believe the mysterious man was St. Joseph himself. Their faith guided them to the remote city of Santa Fe, so why not believe in St. Joseph’s immediate intervention.

What can St. Joseph help you build in your life?