The Miracle of Loretto Chapel: A Stairway to Heaven
The nuns of Loretto Chapel, in Santa Fe, New Mexico had a problem. A big problem.
After years of teaching and completing God’s work, their prayers had been answered.
A chapel had been erected to allow them to worship in a magnificent manner. There was one small oversight. The architect had created a masterpiece. However, there was no way to reach the choir loft some 22 feet above the chapel.
Several solutions were offered and each one was rejected. Perhaps a ladder someone suggested. Someone else had the idea of a staircase outside of the chapel. There seemed to be no solution to this problem.
No one could come up with an acceptable way for nuns to reach the choir loft. No access to the choir loft meant no choir. No choir meant no music for their house of worship.
They decided to complete a novena (a specialized form of prayer), to search for divine guidance. They prayed to St. Joseph, father of Jesus, a carpenter by profession, and patron saint of all carpenters.
On the 9th day of the novena, a man on a donkey arrived. He was a carpenter. He had his carpentry tools. He unloaded his tools and got right to work. He began to create a staircase up to the choir loft. Not any staircase: a spiral staircase. Here is a picture:
The Loretto Chapel Staircase
His creation defied logic. The staircase has no visible means of support. It does two complete 360 degrees turn-arounds. No nails were used, just wooden pegs.
When the staircase was finished, he left.
Just as mysteriously as he arrived, he disappeared. The nuns tried in vain to contact him. He was never paid for any of his work. He was never seen again.
The nuns felt the actual work was completed by St. Joseph, father of Jesus. There are 33 stairs in the staircase. Jesus was 33 years old, when he was crucified.
Loretto Chapel has since been sold. It is now used as a museum and for private affairs. You can read all about Loretto Chapel at the official website, click HERE
Be well.
Albert Grande
http://albertgrande.com
http://pizzatherapy.com
http://grandepublishing.com
