Loretto Chapel

For the love of money is the root of all evil.” 1^st Timothy 6:10. I am hardly a religious person, but I think the people who decided to start charging visitors to view a CHURCH need to revisit the teachings of the Bible.
This hypocrisy is raised to a whole new level when one considers the story of the Loretto Chapel’s miraculous staircase: The nuns at the chapel needed a way to get to the upper level of the church and using a ladder was impractical because of the long habits they wore. A strange carpenter appeared and locked himself into the chapel for several months. He constructed the staircase alone using no screws or nails, and after he finished, left without payment or thanks.
I would understand requesting donations from visitors, but charging people just for entry was distasteful. We made it to the front of the line, and after being told there was a $ 3 entry fee to view the church, we left without seeing the chapel.

Beautiful chapel in the heart of Santa Fe, with the famous winding staircase! Now a museum, it is also available for weddings — a perfect venue for an intimate service and fabulous photos. Do yourself a favor and visit during the week — no waiting lines!!!

The Loretto Chapel is a former Roman Catholic church constructed in the 1870s. It is located at the end of the old Santa Fe trail, near the Plaza and Palace of the Governors. No longer a functioning church, it is now open to the public as a small museum and available to be rented for weddings, with an associated hotel and spa adjacent to it.
Designed in the Gothic Revival architectural style, it is ornate and beautiful inside and out. But constructed for a convent, it is small, and makes for a very short visit for most. A narration of its history is played in the chapel, where you can listen as you taken in the chapel.
Much ado is made about the spiral staircase leading up to the small choir loft in the back. It is not open for use by the public, but it is readily viewable. Dubbed the «Miraculous Stairway,» it shows up on lists of the most famous spiral stairs in the world and is touted as an architectural wonder with a touch of divinity to its creation story (in short: an anonymous carpenter appeared after nine days of prayer, constructed the stairs without assistance nor any inkling where the wood came from, then disappeared without compensation).
In such a small church, the wood staircase is jarringly out of place and of a mismatched architectural design and material, but it appears to be a beautiful work of carpentry, and one of remarkable skill. Originally made without banisters, it smoothly curves a full two rotations without use of nails or a visible central support. Shortly after its construction, banisters were added, and a support now extends to a nearby column.
I’ve seen enough examples of ancient wood structures constructed innovatively around the world that this stair’s repute seems blown out of proportion, and I don’t buy into its miracle story. The $ 3 entry fee is debatably reasonable for a short visit to hear the church’s story, see its interior, and the staircase.

Some things should be left the way they began… free! Very commercial today… they charge you to go in and see the staircase… not like the 1980’s when it was «original» and FREE… grab a bite at The French Café… well worth the stop… nearby.

The staircase mystery… They were made without the use of nails or apparent center support. Chapel is beautiful but I admired an impressive work of carpentry more. Handrails were added later, just imagine how scary could it be without them.
It’s museum and wedding chapel. I cannot remember how much they charged but I seemed to remember getting $ 5 bill, then don’t remember what happened after as I didn’t keep the receipt.
They play history in the background, I sat there and listened to the history of this chapel while admiring the staircase. I saw several pictures of the wedding held here. All the brides looked so beautiful posed on the staircase. Staircase was closed to public, I guess they make it available only for photo shooting for wedding couple? The way the dress curved and staircase created very attractive image.
Gift shop is attached to the museum/​chapel, selling lots of angel stuff.
Oh I wish I could climb this staircase.

This place is gorgeous! The wooden staircase needs to be studied with how immaculate it is!
Was attending a wedding here, and the backdrop of the stained glass was to die for.
Great historic site to visit, if you are in the Sante Fe area.

I’ve heard about Loretto Chapel for years. Miracle or no miracle this is certainly an engineering marvel. I can imagine how the original stairwell looked like a path to heaven without the banisters. What a steep, narrow climb! But for the age of the stairs and the lore behind the their handiwork, this really is an amazing feat. The rest of the church is sunny and has a very happy setting. Despite it’s gothic architecture, it shies away from dark and grey and actually brings in a lot of white, pastel, and light.

Interesting place — worth a visit if your in Santa Fe. You’re told a mysterious story about someone building the spiral staircase — loved looking at the construction details. It’s a beautiful church that exemplifies the architectural of the Spanish period. Afterwards head to the trading post and check out the locally crafted Native American goods.

The world renowned miraculous staircase of Loretto Chapel. We paid 3 dollars each to get in but well, they have to maintain it. Lighted candles and paid it too. I didn’t mind that and it is really an amazing engineering/​architecture of the stairs. The chapel is small so it can be claustrophobic with several people around you. Still worth it. The chapel is awesome but I put 4 stars because the fee to go in can be off putting, souvenir stores make it a tourist area and I would love it to be a solemn place of worship. But who am I to judge, it cannot be maintained by my mere words.

Beautiful church.
Friendly people and amazing church
The decorations are incredible and breathtaking. The spiral staircase is gorgeous.
Located in a beautiful area and ready for visitation.

The place is small, but definitely worth a visit! The story behind the staircase is awesome. When you walk in, you see the beautiful carvings and amazing artwork. There is an audio tour repeatedly playing in the chapel telling you about the history of the chapel.
There is also a little gift shop attached.

STUNNING! Beautiful example of our Heavenly Father’s love for his children. The staircase and ALL the art work is breathe taking.

Very tiny church. Immaculately clean, $ 3 or so cheap entrance fee. The wooden staircase is the «wonder» of this church and is quite impressive. Good place to escape the heat for 10 – 15 minutes or so. No much else going on though.

The church was small and very beautiful. The selling point seems to be the Miraculous Staircase, which admittedly was pretty great, but the rest of the décor was more impressive to me. It’s worth seeing if you get the chance.
My problem is the marketing of this church. It cost $ 3 per person to get in, then you can pay an extra $ 1 to light a candle at the front, then there is an attached gift shop you have to exit through that sells a lot of overpriced religious items. For example, for a mere $ 3.50 you can buy an ounce of «holy water.»
The church was really nice, but I kept waiting for Jesus to storm in and turn over all the tables.

$ 9 for a 5 minute tour? For the 3 of us in our group, it wasn’t worth the money. The gift shop was more interesting and I actually got to read the whole miraculous story.

So very beautiful. You just can’t imagine how wonderful this church is… the stairs are impressive. Only $ 3 to get in… and that is a donation. Wonderful place of worship. Don’t forget your camera, photos are allowed. Located about a block from the Plaza. Gift shop right in the church has a great selection of keepsakes. Loved everything. So impressive. The gift shop was very reasonable on pricing. Pictures are a MUST. You can even get married in this beautiful chapel. They have weddings here all the time. Wow! My fiancé and I wanna get married here now! Sorry St. Thomas! ;-) Enjoyed our very spiritual visit.

This is a must see in Santa Fe. Regardless of what you believe about the stair case, it is a remarkable feat of carpentry and beautiful to look at. I only wish that they would move the rope farther away as ‘do not touch’ doesn’t seem to be understood by people. It is upsetting to see something so incredible touched repeatedly by people as it jeopardizes future generations from experiencing this.

A must see stop in Santa Fe.
Stop in to see the staircase, pay $ 3, stock up on your Winchester/​Supernatural supplies (holy water, rosaries, what-​have-​you).
It’s a cute, quaint, tourist attraction.

Change up your Art Tour of Santa Fee… Stop here, take a load off your feet and listen to a wonderful story!
The story is filled with faith, intrigue, love and mystery. Wonderful!
I think it’s about 30 minutes. It’s on a constant repeat so if you get there and it seems like you missed something… just hang around… it starts up again.
The church is quaint, intimate, peaceful and beautiful inside.
Like everyone else has said. the main attraction — The Staircase — is amazing!

You don’t have to be religious to appreciate a good story … or at least good architecture and engineering.
During business hours, pay a $ 3 admission and get an up-​close look at the mysterious spiral staircase — the mystery being the identity of the unnamed builder and the other mystery being the physics behind its construction.
You can also admire the ornate church interior and purchase religious souvenirs from the shop. I brought home some holy water and beautiful rosaries. And apparently they do weddings and events.