Spiral Staircase And Chapel Of Loretto Quiz

Answer: A teaching order

The Sisters of Loretto are a teaching order of nuns. The Sisters arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1852. Upon their arrival they opened the Academy Of Our Lady Of Light. In Spanish the word light is Loretto. Despite the hardships of the area during the Civil War, the school prospered and flourished.

Answer: 1873

In 1873, property near the school was purchased so that a chapel could be built. According to the historians of Santa Fe, the chapel was to resemble a Gothic Revival-style chapel, much like King Louis IX's Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The stone that was used in the building of the Chapel was quarried in from areas around Santa Fe and Cerro, Colorado.

The sandstone which was used for the walls and the volanic stone that was used for the ceiling was brought into town via wagons.

Answer: 1878

The architect, P. Mouly neglected to place a staircase in his design of the small chapel. His orginal intent was to connect the choir loft through the second story of the school via a hallway, but this was never accomplished. Sister Magdalene, who was the Mother Superior worried that a typical and conventional staircase would take up half of the already small chapel.

Answer: Saint Joseph

A Novena is a prayer that is said for seven to nine days. On the last day of the Novena, a gray haired man appeared, and asked to speak to the Mother Superior. He told the Mother Superior that he would build them a staircase, but that his name was never to be mentioned.

The Mother Superior ordered the other Sisters not to speak to the man nor to bother him in any way. No one really knows how long it took the stranger to build the staircase. The Sisters reported that he worked non stop in the design and construction of the staircase. Upon completion of the staircase, the stranger woke the Mother Superior so that she could see the beautiful work that was done.

In the middle of the excitment, the stranger slipped quietly away. The Sisters never had the chance to properly thank him and never received a bill for the strangers services.

The Sisters Of Loretto believed that the stranger was St. Joseph to whom they had prayed.

Answer: A saw, a T-square, and a hammer

The Sisters made note that the stranger used only three tools which were, a saw, a T-square, and a hammer. They also noted that he used hot tubs of water in which he placed planks of wood so that he could mould and shape them. The wood that was used to build the staircase is another mystery in itself. No one knows what type of wood it is or where it came from.

The staircase is twenty-two feet high, and has thirty-three steps which form two complete circular turns of 360 degrees each all without a center support.

There were absolutely no nails used. The entire structure is held together with wooden pegs. The wood is spliced in seven places on the inside, and in nine on the outside. Each piece forms a perfect curve. The Loretto Academy closed its doors over 20 years ago.

In its place is a small, quaint Inn. The new owners have allowed the Chapel to remain as a memory to the Sisters who believed a miracle took place in the small chapel. Today the Chapel is host to vistors from around the world who marvel at the wonder of a kind stranger who gave to the Sisters the staircase that they prayed for. All of the information contained in this quiz can be found at 'The Loretto Chapel Homepage'.