At Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, our aim is to glorify God the Most Holy Trinity in all things. We offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with great reverence, beauty, dignity and love.
Our liturgical music is truly sacred music, drawn from the rich treasury of the Church’s heritage.
Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is the living heart of our parish, from Whom we derive the grace and strength to lead lives of fidelity, holiness and charity.
As the salvation of each parishioner’s soul is of the utmost importance, our parishioners strive to live in the state of sanctifying grace by frequent reception of the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion.
We aim to be completely faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and the will of the Supreme Pontiff in our preaching, teaching and apostolic efforts. In this way, our laity can be the sanctifying leaven in the world that they are called to be.
We take our obligation seriously to defend the unborn, the dying and the sanctity of marriage. Each year we participate in many pro-life and pro-marriage events.
At Our Lady of Good Counsel, we have the traditional Latin Mass offered each Sunday, in addition to the modern rite of Mass, in order to fulfill the will of Pope Benedict XVI that the Church be seen as a continuity with her Tradition, not a rupture of it.
The most Holy Mother of God is our Patroness. She watches over us, protects, guides and assists us in following Her Son. We love and honor her with frequent devotions and outpourings of childlike love.
Our Pastor
Father Edmund A. Castronovo is the son of the late Edmund M. Castronovo and Lauretta E. Melfe Castronovo. He has two sisters: Lynda J. Castronovo, who is the Principal of Scotia-Glenville High School in Scotia, NY, and Mary Deidre Pignatiello, who is a beauty salon manager in Fairfax, VA. He graduated from Hamilton Central High School in 1968.
Father attended Wadhams Hall Seminary in Ogdensburg, NY, and received his Master’s Degree in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in 1976 by the Most Rev. David F. Cunningham, Bishop of Syracuse. His assignments as an associate pastor were in St Paul’s, Norwich (1976-81), St. Daniel’s, Syracuse (1981-87), and Holy Trinity in Utica (1987-88). He has served as Pastor of St. Malachy’s Church in Sherburne (1988-2000), at St. Thomas’ Church in New Hartford (2000-2002), and Administrator of St. Joseph’s Church in Oneida (2002-2008).
For two years before becoming Pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Father was a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, serving as a teacher at St. Gregory’s Academy in Elmhurst, and assisting at the Fraternity’s parish, St. Michael’s in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
His housemate and buddy is Peppe, a Bichon-Frise/Cocker Spaniel who never fails to charm all who come to the Rectory.