The Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, is a former Roman Catholic church that is now used as a museum and a wedding chapel. It is known for its unusual helix-shaped spiral staircase (the "Miraculous Stair"). The Sisters of Loretto credited St. Joseph with its construction. It has been the subject of legend, and the circumstances surrounding its construction and its builder were considered miraculous by the Sisters of Loretto. History The chapel was commissioned by the Sisters of Loretto for their girls' school, Loretto Academy, in 1873. Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy had brought in two French architects, Antoine Mouly and his son Projectus, to work on the St. Francis Cathedral project, and suggested that the Sisters could make use of their services on the side to build a much-needed chapel for the academy. Projectus ended up being the main architect for the project, basing his Gothic Revival design—complete with spires, buttresses, and stained glass windows imported from France via the Santa Fe Trail—on the famous Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The chapel was built from locally quarried sandstone and took five years to complete, being officially consecrated in 1878. Loretto Chapel was used on a daily basis by the students and nuns of Loretto Academy until the school closed in 1968. Afterwards, it became a privately owned museum and wedding venue, while the rest of the Academy campus was demolished. Staircase Description Loretto Chapel is best known for its "miraculous" spiral staircase, which rises to the choir loft while making two full turns, all without the support of a newel or central pole. The staircase is built mostly out of wood and is held together by wooden pegs, with no glue, nails or other hardware used. The inner stringer consists of seven wooden segments joined together with pegs, while the longer outer stringer has nine segments. The exact wood used to build the staircase has been confirmed to be a type of spruce which is not native to New Mexico and scientifically not identified anywhere else in the world. The handrails were added later in 1887, and an iron bracket was later attached to a column to add additional support. The staircase is supported by an inner wood stringer. Apart from any claims of its miraculous nature, the staircase has been described as a remarkable feat of woodworking. According to a Washington Post column by Tim Carter: "It's a