In 1915, the few Catholic families in and around the village of Plymouth asked Bishop J.S. Foley to allow them to celebrate mass and other services here. With the blessing of the bishop, Father J. Dowdle celebrated the first mass in Plymouth at the Grange Hall on Union Street on Palm Sunday of the same year. For the next five years, one Sunday mass per month was celebrated here. On the other Sundays, those who were able traveled to St. Mary’s in Wayne to attend mass.
In 1920, with the Catholic community grown to about thirty families, Bishop Michael Gallagher named Father Francis C. LeFevre pastor in residence, and fund raising began to purchase an abandoned church building at the corner of Dodge and Union Streets. On November 24, the first mass was celebrated in the parish’s first church. At Christmas, Bishop Gallagher announced that the parish would be placed under the patronage of Our Lady of Good Counsel.
In 1927, the church was completely remodeled. Bishop Gallagher blessed the completed building on July 1, 1928.
On December 23, 1932, a fire completely destroyed the church. Mass was celebrated in the Schrader Funeral Chapel until 1934, when a basement building was completed on the site of the church that had been lost.
In 1938, Father Victor Renaud succeeded Father LeFevre as pastor. He was in turn succeeded by Father William Mooney in 1942. It was in 1942 that the parish acquired the house and property belonging to the estate of Kate Allen, daughter of Ebenezer Penniman.
With the acquisition of the Penniman house and property, plans were made for a temporary church and a parish school. The first milestone was realized on Palm Sunday, 1949, when mass was celebrated for the first time in the temporary church—now the school gymnasium. In September of the same year, the first six grades of the parish school opened, staffed by three Sisters of Saint Joseph and three lay teachers.
Father Mooney remained pastor until 1953, when he was succeeded by Father Francis Byrne. In 1954, 1955, and 1957, the parish continued to construct new buildings, remodeled its existing buildings, and acquired more property for expansion. In 1960, the school doubled in size with the addition of eight rooms.
On July 9, 1966, the church building at the corner of Penniman and Arthur was consecrated by Archbishop, later Cardinal, John Dearden. This building remained the heart of our parish family until September 9, 2000, when the sixth house of the Church, located at the corner of North Territorial and Beck Roads, was consecrated by our Archbishop, Adam Cardinal Maida.
The building and consecration of the sixth house for the Church fulfills the first phase of our stewardship of resources and our vision for the future of our parish. Our former church building has been remodeled and converted into OLGC’s junior high school.
Phase two of the building program will see the completion of parish and liturgical staff offices and a family center/gymnasium. Finally, a new school will be built to complete the OLGC parish complex surrounding and connected to the church.