Anonymous Carpenter Leaves Everyone in Awe

Short Summary: After praying to St. Joseph, nuns received a beautifully constructed spiral staircase from an enigmatic carpenter who mysteriously left without payment or acknowledgment.

Details

Location: New Mexico, United States

Year: 1878

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Through the intercession of St. Joseph, we ask for Your guidance and help when faced with challenges that seem insurmountable. Just as You provided a way for the nuns, may we trust in You and pray with faith in all things. Help us to rely on Your divine wisdom and love, knowing that You can make a way where there seems to be none - even if it comes in a way that we do not readily understand or accept. Amen.

Verse: Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive. -Mt 21:22

Full Story

Years into the construction of a new chapel, the architects had no way of helping the nuns reach the choir loft without a ladder. A staircase simply would not fit in the space allowed. Faced with the problem, the devout community began to pray to St. Joseph. Nine days later, an elderly drifter visited the convent. He rode a donkey through the desert with his hand tools, claiming to be a carpenter. He offered to build them a suitable staircase as long as he was given privacy. Oddly, no one ever saw any wood or materials delivered during his stay. After three months, he finished the beautiful spiral staircase, and mysteriously left without payment or saying goodbye. Recent analysis has been unable to determine the type of wood used (it is an unidentified subspecies of spruce), or how the staircase was perfectly engineered without a support column—even by modern standards. Note: the 33-step staircase did not originally include a handrail, which was later added by the nuns. Whether or not the stairs are a miracle in themselves, they certainly classify as a fascinating mystery.

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