Early Roots (1830s – 1870s)

The origins of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish reach back to the early 19th century, when Catholic farming families settled in what is now Moorestown. The first mission chapel — named “The Chapel of Our Lady and St. Patrick” — was established about 1832, and Mass was sometimes celebrated by traveling priests from the nearby parish of Immaculate Conception in Camden.

In 1852, as the Catholic population in the region grew, Bishop John Neumann of the Philadelphia Diocese authorized monthly Mass at the mission chapel.

In 1866 the original chapel was lost to fire; the congregation purchased land on West Main Street in Moorestown (using a straw purchase due to local anti-Catholic sentiment) and built a new brick church, dedicated in 1867. By 1879 the chapel’s status was elevated from mission to parish, meaning a resident priest was assigned.

Building the Present Church (1890s)

In the early 1890s a windstorm damaged the church building. Determined to provide a fitting house of worship, the parish laid the cornerstone for the present stone church and completed it on July 14, 1895; the architectural style is Mid-Gothic Romanesque Revival. 

A prominent 1,150-lb statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus was placed outside the church on the centenary of the church building. 

2000 Expansion

In 1927, the parish opened its grade school with four classrooms and eight grades, staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill. 

By the 1950s and 1960s, enrollment surged, prompting an expansion in 1962 to accommodate two classes per grade level. At this time lay teachers joined the faculty alongside the Sisters. 

Throughout the mid-20th century the parish continued to serve the growing Catholic community in Moorestown and nearby Mount Laurel, adapting its ministries, facilities and liturgical life accordingly.