LOWELL -- Tucked behind the Franco-American School, 15 statues are rumored to work miracles. Since 1912, the clay figures depicting Jesus' journey to execution and resurrection have been visited by thousands, from street sweepers and senators to poets and war heroes.

You don't have to be Catholic to appreciate the Lowell Grotto, said Sisters Lorraine Richard and Jane Holland.

"So many people from different backgrounds and faiths come here," said Richard, principal of the Franco-American. "They come to find peace, a quiet place to think and reflect."

It's people's faith that make the statues miraculous, according to Richard, and it's largely fueling an effort to raise $150,000 for repairing and maintaining the crumbling works of art.

For nearly 100 years, the aging statues enclosed in glass and wood cases have lined a path leading to a rock grotto behind the Pawtucket Street school. Above the grotto towers a cross with a sad-eyed Jesus. In it, an altar glows with burning prayer candles from dozens who visit the grounds daily.

But an up-close look at the stations reveal figures with missing noses and fingers, chipped clay, peeling paint and rotting wood. Inside Station V, a family of squirrels made their home in the statue of Jesus.

"If something wasn't done to fix the statues soon, they'd be gone forever," said Kevin Roy, who volunteers his time restoring the station statues. "A piece of the city's history would be lost."

On May 15, 1911, a local contractor named Jean-Baptiste Morin undertook building the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes -- a scaled replica of the original rock grotto in France. Water from the French grotto's spring and two stones were sent to Lowell.

A year later, 14 terra cotta statues forged by a Parisian artist were placed on a ship bound for the U.S. Beneath the cover of leafy maples, the stations lead the way to the grotto. They sat in the open air until the 1940s, when they were put inside protective cases to shield them from the elements.

At night, the stations are illuminated and a light shines up on the cross above the grotto. The area has become as much of an attraction for famous figures over the years as it has for locals.

The grotto's religious images haunted Jack Kerouac's childhood.

"I always liked to get out of there," he wrote in Dr. Sax, reflecting on being a boy and staring up at the image of a crucified Jesus.

Despite Kerouac's not-so-peaceful memories of the place, his writings have drawn hundreds to witness one of the mysterious haunts of Dr. Sax, including Bob Dylan. Gen. George Patton, President John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy and actor Johnny Depp have also passed through.

Sen. Steve Panagiotakos has been a regular visitor for the past 15 years, Roy said. The nuns credit the Lowell senator with spearheading the effort to restore the stations.

To date, four stations have been restored, costing about $8,500 each. New materials being used, including Spanish cedar for the wooden cases, along with metal bases and tempered glass, should ensure they'll be around for another 100 years, said builder Al Jussaume.

Like many who grew up in the area, Roy said volunteering to preserve this piece of the city's past is purely a labor of love.

Jussaume, 58, has donated his time to building the new cases. The grotto was a backdrop to his childhood.

"My dad used to take us on walks down there and we'd do the stations," Jussaume said.

Like waiting for a bus or a train, some say the stations at the grotto transport you somewhere.

"For us it was like they walk you with God," he said.

Gene Soucy, owner of Soucy Wire and Iron Works in Lowell, has been building the metal bases and crosses, which are replacing the wooden crosses, on top of each station. Richard and Holland, who have worked at the Franco-American since 1965, said the restoration effort is communitywide and no donation is too small. Money raised will also be used toward the continued maintenance of the grotto and the stations.

They hope to have the stations replaced by September 2011, when the statues turn 100. At the end of

their path, where the grotto sits, ruled notebooks overflow with prayers and other musings from visitors.

Some talk to God, others talk to family.

"No matter who they're talking to, they come here because this is a special place for them to stop and reflect," Holland said. "We want to keep this a special place for generations to come."

For more information on preserving the stations, visit www.francoamericanschool.org, or call the school at 978-453-0308.

(c) 2010 The Sun (Lowell, MA). All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.