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Skeptics cannot deny that the helix staircase exists, as many visit it each year.  They also cannot deny that it lacks a center supporting column as other spiral staircases have support.  Skeptics have denied that the Loretto staircase can support much weight, but the foregoing photo proves them wrong about that.

Skeptics cannot deny that the helix staircase exists, as many visit it each year.  They also cannot deny that it lacks a center supporting column as other spiral staircases have support.  Skeptics have denied that the Loretto staircase can support much weight, but the foregoing photo proves them wrong about that.

''Snopes'' tries mightily to downplay the achievement and dispel the mystery, but its arguments are inconsequential.  For example, it implies that a side connector added later (and visible above) to stop the springiness of the stairs is somehow a support.<ref>https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/stairway-from-heaven/</ref>  It plainly is not.  ''Snopes'' also implies that the original staircase was unsafe because it lacked a hand-railing, but that obviously misses the point since a hand-railing was trivial to add when desired.

''Snopes'' tries mightily to downplay the achievement and dispel the mystery, but its arguments are inconsequential.  For example, it implies that a side connector added later (and visible above) to stop the springiness of the stairs is somehow a support.<ref>https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/stairway-from-heaven/</ref>  It plainly is not.  ''Snopes'' also tries to disparage the original staircase as possibly being unsafe because it lacked a hand-railing, but that obviously misses the point since a hand-railing was trivial to add when desired.  The ''Snopes'' analysis concludes with a slap at the private ownership of the chapel, by saying that they somehow have "a strong financial motive" to perpetuate a legend, as though anyone is getting rich off this.

== References ==

== References ==