JamieBLT

Long ago, when I was probably 6 or 7 years old, I used to watch the T.V. show Unsolved Mysteries with my parents before bed. I don’t know about you, but that show used to scare the crap out of me most of the time, but we were hooked. I will forever remember going to my little bed thinking of nothing but alien abductions, missing persons, and ghostly visitors.

There is one story, however that I remember very vividly because I was so fascinated by it. It was the story of the Miraculous Staircase in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is believed to be built by Saint Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, aka the husband of Mary, aka Jesus’ earth dad. The story goes that the church needed a way to get to the choir loft 22 feet above and almost all carpenters they asked to build a staircase concluded that, because of the limited space inside the church, only a ladder could be used to access the loft. The sisters prayed a novena to Saint Joseph and on the last day, BOOM, a carpenter with a donkey and a toolbox was there to help. The man finished the beautiful staircase and left before they could get his name or pay him. Sounds saintly to me!

   To this day, some expert builders are still perplexed by some design aspects of the staircase. I’m no expert builder but I was definitely perplexed, and in awe. It was a very beautiful piece of work to see, and I feel a little more fulfilled in having seen something I have wanted to see for a long time. Sometimes as a kid when I had to go to bed after watching a particularly frightening episode of Unsolved Mysteries, I would stop and think of the story of the miraculous staircase, and it comforted me so that I could fall asleep.

If you are in the pretty town of Santa Fe, definitely make this one of your stops before lunch. It gets pretty crowded as the day goes on and the tiny church fills up with others wanting to see the staircase. The church is now primarily a museum so there is an entrance fee of $3. It is also a popular wedding venue, and Holy Eucharist is still offered every Sunday Morning.

So, over to you guys. Have you seen the Miraculous Staircase, or heard the story before? What are your thoughts about it?