About Our Lady of Good Counsel · Renault, Illinois
Our Lady of Good Counsel is a small Catholic parish serving the village of Renault in Monroe County, Illinois, in the Diocese of Belleville. The parish was established in 1879 and remains one of only three Christian congregations ever organized in the tiny rural community. Today it is partnered with St. Patrick Parish in Tipton, sharing the pastoral ministry of Rev. John Kizhakedan. Sunday Eucharist is celebrated at 10:30 a.m., making this a quiet, traditional country parish rooted in the German-Catholic farming heritage of southern Illinois.
- Established
- 1879
- Patron
- Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Rector
- Rev. John Kizhakedan
- Diocese
- Diocese of Belleville
Why belong here
Our Lady of Good Counsel offers a quiet, close-knit Catholic community in the rural heart of Monroe County, with a single Sunday Eucharist celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Sharing pastoral care with St. Patrick Parish in Tipton, the parish provides an intimate rural worship experience for Catholic families in the Renault area. Visitors and parishioners are warmly welcomed to this historic 1879 country parish that has ministered to the region for nearly 150 years.
Mass times at Our Lady of Good Counsel
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish History
Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish was organized in 1879 in the rural village of Renault, Monroe County, Illinois. It is one of only three churches ever founded in this small farming community. The parish's sacramental registers — recording baptisms, first communions, confirmations, marriages, and deaths — are preserved in the diocesan archives and span from 1879 to 1958, providing nearly 80 years of detailed family-history records for the area's Catholic families.
- Established 1879 (Diocese of Belleville)
- Parish records (1879–1958) digitized on FamilySearch
- Renault village founded 1860 as 'Glasgow City'; incorporated 1896
Mass & Worship Schedule
The parish celebrates one weekend Mass for the community. Weekday Masses are not regularly scheduled, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation times are not listed in the diocesan directory. Holy Day Masses are observed as announced by the parish.
- Sunday Eucharist: 10:30 a.m.
- Holy Day Mass: As announced
Pastor & Leadership
Our Lady of Good Counsel is currently served by Rev. John Kizhakedan, who also serves as pastor of the partnered parish of St. Patrick in Tipton. He can be reached at the parish office phone (618-458-7710) or at the St. Patrick, Tipton number (618-458-6875).
- Pastor: Rev. John Kizhakedan
Parish Partnership
Under the Diocese of Belleville's parish partnership initiative, Our Lady of Good Counsel of Renault is officially partnered with St. Patrick Parish of Tipton (Monroe County). The two parishes share one pastor and collaborate on ministry, sacramental preparation, and faith formation. St. Patrick, the larger partner, was itself established in 1850.
- Partnered Parish: St. Patrick, Tipton (est. 1850)
- Shared pastor: Rev. John Kizhakedan
The Village of Renault
Renault is a tiny unincorporated community in the southern part of Monroe County, Illinois, where G Road, Kaskaskia Road, and South Fork Road meet. Originally laid out in 1860 as Glasgow City by James Glangon, the village had 150 residents in 28 homes by 1883 and supported blacksmiths, wagon makers, a shoemaker, two general stores, and a steam flouring mill. Renault was formally incorporated in 1896, though it later lost village status; several attempts to reincorporate — including one as late as the 1980s — failed. Through its history the community has had just three churches: Holy Cross Lutheran (c. 1853), Our Lady of Good Counsel (1879), and Renault Assembly of God (1942).
- Population in 1883: about 150 in 28 homes
- Incorporated as a village: February 16, 1896
- Three churches in the village's history
Patroness & Feast Day
The parish takes its name from Our Lady of Good Counsel (Mater Boni Consilii), a popular Marian title whose devotion traces to the miraculous fresco that appeared at Genazzano, Italy on April 25, 1467. The feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel is celebrated throughout the universal Church on April 26. Pope Leo XIII added her invocation to the Litany of Loreto in 1903, and she is patroness of the Republic of Albania, the Missionary Sisters of Saint Peter Claver, the Augustinian Province of the Midwest U.S., and several dioceses worldwide.
- Feast Day: April 26
- Devotion originates from the 1467 apparition at Genazzano, Italy
- Added to the Litany of Loreto in 1903 by Pope Leo XIII
Contact & Location
The parish is located on Washington Street in the heart of the village of Renault, Illinois. Visitors and parishioners can reach the parish office by phone; the office shares its number with the fax line. There is no separate parish website listed by the Diocese of Belleville, and parish email is not publicly listed.
- Address: 2038 Washington Street, Renault, IL 62279
- Mailing: P.O. Box 98, Renault, IL 62279
- Phone: 618-458-7710
- Pastor line (St. Patrick, Tipton): 618-458-6875