History of St. Joan of Arc Parish
60 YEARS OF CELEBRATING, PROCLAIMING AND SHARING GOD’S LOVE!
The Church of St. Joan of Arc in Marlton, NJ, is one of 97 parishes in the four-county Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton under the leadership of Bishop David O’Connell, C.M. Though our parish territory is made up of part of Evesham Township, just as God’s love knows no boundaries, neither do we!
Established in June of 1961, St. Joan of Arc Parish has grown into a large, vibrant parish of over 5,000 households. Remarkably, in our 60-year history, we have had only 3 pastors: Fr. William Kokoszka, 1961-1973, Monsignor Armand Pedata, 1973-2006, and Monsignor Richard LaVerghetta, who began his pastorate in March of 2007. Our parish has also been served by a number of Associate Pastors and Permanent Deacons. Since the founding of the St. Joan of Arc Elementary School in 1965, we have also been blessed with the service of many Sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill who have worked in the School and in parish ministries. Currently, Sr. Pat Pycik, SSJ, serves as our School Principal.
To accommodate the growing number of parishioners, a new church building was built and dedicated in 1988. In 1996, we welcomed a new parish in Marlton, the Church of St. Isaac Jogues! In 2011 we refurbished our church interior and created an outdoor Prayer Garden to celebrate our 50th Anniversary.
From our founding, our parish mission has been to form disciples of Jesus Christ committed to celebrating, proclaiming and sharing God’s love with everyone … no exceptions! We have a long history of collaboration between clergy, religious and the laity. Lay women and men, of all ages, take active leadership roles in the liturgical, faith formation and ministerial life of the parish. Most importantly, in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, we strive for the full, conscious and active participation of the community in Sunday Mass. It is from the Eucharist that we gain our strength to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ as individual Christians and as a faith community!