Franco American School prepares for its 100th anniversary mass

The crucifix, which stands above the grotto behind the Franco American School, was lifted away for restoration on October 16, 2007. The metal Christ corpus was sculpted in France and stood on a wooden cross from 1912 until 1950. When the original cross deteriorated, Nelson Pepin, a local machinist at the time, planted a steel cross, which was the work of Honora Adonias Girard, then owner of Oscar Welding.

The 57 year-old cross, along with the 95 year-old corpus, were lifted by Dracut based Corey Crane & Equipment. Restoration is being done gratuitously by Harold Little’s Advanced Sandblasting, also of Dracut.

The next phase will be the restoration of the statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Bernadette Soubirous, which stand at the base of the grotto built in 1911 and replicates that of Lourdes in France. The grotto was the initiative of Father Henri Watelle, OMI and was constructed by J.B Morin, contractor.

The coordinator of this special project is Kevin Roy, parent of a kindergarten student at the Franco American School.

We are most thankful to everyone for their genuine interest and generous contribution to the success of our anniversary celebration.