FERVENT Catholics in a crime-ridden New Jersey town are flocking to what they say is the miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary's image in a tree trunk.

On Tuesday, a crowd of several dozen people stood around the tree, praying, taking photos and swapping stories of what they call a miracle.

West New York, just across the Hudson from Manhattan, has been better known for crime, a depressed economy and a mayor who along with his son faces federal computer hacking charges.

But the town's central Bergenline Avenue is now the unlikely setting for a diminutive Ginkgo biloba tree with a knot that, worshippers claim, has the form of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

media_camera The knot in the tree that people say looks like Our Lady of Guadalupe on Bergenline Avenue in West New York, New Jersey. Picture: AFP

The Catholic Church has distanced itself from the supposed miracle and there's no shortage of scoffers in West New York, a tough place with a high Latin American immigrant population.

Yet on a sweltering summer's day, worshippers showed no sign of losing faith.

media_camera Crowds of people stand around the tree, praying, taking photos and swapping stories of what they call a miracle. Picture: AFP

Boisterous and implacable, they vowed to stay put until the town's troubled mayor, Felix Roque, protects the tree for good.

"We want to build a monument," said Maria Baez, 35, one of the first to announce she'd seen the Virgin at the tree and now one of the stalwarts mounting day-and-night vigils.

media_camera A police barricade surrounds the tree to protect it and it's worshippers. Picture: AFP

Already the base of the tree and an adjacent fire hydrant are draped in rosaries, votive candles, flowers and pictures celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe, a major figure in Mexican Catholicism.

Police have erected a metal barricade around the tree and a patrol car is parked alongside to ensure safety for both crowd and tree.

Roque has been quoted in the local press as saying that the town spends $US1000 a day to manage the situation.

Originally published as Crowds flock to Virgin 'miracle' tree