Catholic COmmunities
of CHEROKEE & HOLSTEIN

Newspaper accounts from the time indicate that the first Mass in Holstein was celebrated in 1880 by Father William J. Halpin, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Early, in 1880.

Over the course of the next several years, local Catholics gathered in homes where Mass was celebrated about once a month. By the late 1880s, Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish was formally established as a mission of Sacred Heart Parish in Ida Grove. A handful of Irish and German families comprised the congregation.

In 1903, care of the parish was transferred to St. Joseph Parish in Schaller and this relationship continued thereafter until 1955. The parish grew slowly but steadily, so that by the mid-1950's it was becoming clear that OLGC was ready for its first resident pastor. Father Karl Hansen was appointed to that position in August of 1955.

The old wooden church, which seated only about 110 people, was no longer adequate for the growing Catholic population and so in 1960 property was purchased for the purpose of constructing a new church. Father Thomas Lawless, who had been appointed pastor in 1958, oversaw the construction of the new church. Construction was completed and the church was dedicated in April 1962. By this time, the parish had grown to more than 250 members.

A formal religious education program had been initiated within the parish in the early 1900s, with classes then being conducted by religious sisters from Storm Lake and Early. The presence of women religious remained a mainstay of the program until the late 1960s, after which committed members of the laity undertook to serve as both coordinators and catechists. To this day, the role of laity has been crucial to the development of the parish, with a number of committees, councils and boards established to deal with a variety of issues from liturgy to finances, social justice to religious education.

Until recently, the parish had both a Men's Club and Rosary Society. With declining attendance, it was deemed best to formally disband these bodies and instead institute three "Service Ministries" groupings of men and women. These groups deal with both parish and community affairs.

Additionally, a thriving ecumenical relationship between OGLC and the other Holstein congregations, Lutheran and United Methodist, has also grown up during this time.

Presently, Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Holstein is supported by approximately 135 families. Parish participation is excellent and the recently remodeled interior of the church makes for outstanding liturgical gatherings. A large number of priests have served the parish over the course of its 100 plus years, with Father Dan Rupp as pastor since 2021. Presently, OLGC is clustered with Immaculate Conception Church in Cherokee.