For centuries, pilgrims have climbed the Holy Stairs in Rome on their knees, venerating them as the steps Jesus ascended before being judged by Pontius Pilate.
But the sanctuary around them had another story hidden in plain sight.
For decades, Mary Angela Schroth helped lead an effort to restore the vast cycle of Renaissance frescoes surrounding the stairs, working with the Vatican Museums, the Getty Foundation and benefactors from around the world. What had become dark, dirty and difficult to read slowly emerged again in vivid color.
In this week’s episode, Schroth tells the inside story of that restoration — and why the Holy Stairs remain one of the most unusual and powerful places in Christian Rome.
In this episode:
Why the Holy Stairs are traditionally believed to be the steps Jesus climbed before Pilate
How the stairs came to Rome
Why the sanctuary’s frescoes became almost impossible to see
How Schroth helped get the Vatican and Getty Foundation behind the restoration
What conservators discovered as the paintings emerged again
How millions of dollars were raised to complete the work
The moment the project deepened Schroth’s own Catholic faith
The extraordinary spiritual experience one pilgrim reported on the stairs
Whether beauty itself can lead people to faith
Why Schroth believes the Holy Stairs still speak to the problem of human suffering
What emerged from the restoration was more than decoration.
The frescoes were designed to tell a story: the suffering of the Hebrew people, the Passion of Christ, and the Christian understanding of salvation. Once the images could be seen again, Schroth says, the meaning of the sanctuary itself became clearer.
For her, that may be why the Holy Stairs continue to matter. The place is built around a question that has not become any less urgent with time: why human beings suffer, and what suffering can mean with eyes of faith.