The graceful spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel ascends weightlessly from the floor to the choir loft rising a total height of almost twenty-five feet. Not a single nail was used in its construction; it lacks any central support. Built in 1881, it still evokes wonder. What is the secret of its miraculous design? Featured in the 1930s as one of the world’s great enigmas by “Ripley’s Believe It or Not,”hundreds of thousands of the faithful and the merely curious journey to the chapel to see it every year. Local legends ascribe the staircase to the work of a mysterious visitor, an unknown itinerant carpenter who arrived suddenly, worked silently, and disappeared without a trace once the miraculous work was done. In this episode we investigate the tradition that the Loretto staircase was constructed by a heavenly visitation of St. Joseph, patron of woodworkers—and we will reveal the historical identity of the mysterious craftsman who built the spiral staircase and the centuries-old tradition he brought with him to Santa Fe. Music and FX Credits Carpentry – planing timber by hand, by abcopen, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial , https://freesound.org/people/abcopen/sounds/164211/ Hora est, MWV B 18 (For Male Chorus), performed by Papalin, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license https://musopen.org/music/44163-hora-est-mwv-b-18/ Untitled sacred music, by Rannar Sillard, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD7Hg1UdAAM Succubus intro, by zagi2, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial , https://freesound.org/people/zagi2/sounds/368015/ Franz Joseph Haydn, Mass in C major, Hob. XXII:9, performed by the Orchestra and Chorus of St. Martin Eisenstadt, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license https://musopen.org/music/43349-mass-in-c-major-hob-xxii9/ Flight Hymn, by Ross Bugden,Licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 International license, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCr0bsng60Y Little Gray Mule (Roscoe Holcomb, Overhand/Drop-Thumb gCGCD), by Clifton Hicks, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHpyuM-J9f8 Horsewagon steady:stop dirt:pavement, by lefthandwinnie, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license, https://freesound.org/people/lefthandwinnie/sounds/403158/ J.S. Bach, Bourree from Violin Partita no. 1 , BWV 1002, guitar arr., performed by Accou, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license, https://musopen.org/music/44003-bourree-from-violin-partita-no-1-bwv-1002-guitar-arr/ Tender Steps by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/56286 Ft: Javolenus DFA by onlymeith (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/onlymeith/53446 Ft: DJ Vadim, Geert Veneklaas A distant gunshot, by InspectorJ, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license, https://freesound.