About Our Lady of Good Counsel · Baltimore, Maryland
Our Lady of Good Counsel is a historic Roman Catholic parish in South Baltimore's Locust Point / Federal Hill neighborhood, founded in 1855 as a mission chapel of St. Lawrence O'Toole and today sharing pastoral life with Holy Cross Church under the Catholic Community of South Baltimore (CCSB). It belongs to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, sits at 1532 East Fort Avenue at Towson Street, and is pastored by Rev. Kevin Ewing alongside Deacon Steve Sarnecki. The parish is rooted in waves of Irish, and later Polish and Volga German, immigrants who made their first American home in Locust Point, and today it serves as one of three canonical parishes ministering collaboratively to South Baltimore.
- Established
- 1855
- Patron
- Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Rector
- Rev. Kevin Ewing
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Baltimore
Why belong here
Our Lady of Good Counsel is a small, rooted South Baltimore parish with Mass every Sunday at 11:00 a.m., daily weekday Masses, regular Confession, and monthly Eucharistic Adoration, all joined with neighboring Holy Cross Church under one pastor and one staff. Parishioners are drawn into a tight-knit community of faith formation (Monday Night Bible Study, Young Adults ministry), outreach (SALT Mt 5:13 food and all-weather compassion teams), the arts (a full Director of Music and a wedding music program), and pastoral care — including an on-site Catholic counselor. The parish's history stretches back to 1855 and walks hand in hand with the Irish, Polish, and Volga German Catholic heritage of Locust Point and Federal Hill, making it a faithful spiritual home for anyone wanting to know, love, and serve God and neighbor in South Baltimore.
Mass times at Our Lady of Good Counsel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm at Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Sunday 8:00 am – 8:30 am at Holy Cross
- Sunday 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm at Holy Cross
- By appointment with Fr. Kevin Ewing ([email protected])
Adoration times
- Tuesday 7:30 pm (Second Tuesday of the month, following 7 pm Mass)
Parish History
Rooted in South Baltimore since 1855, Our Lady of Good Counsel grew from a mission chapel of St. Lawrence O'Toole into a cornerstone parish of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Its story is tied to the Irish, Polish, and Volga German Catholic immigrants of Locust Point and Federal Hill, and to the famous Cardinal Gibbons who was once its first pastor.
- Founded 1855 as a mission of St. John's Parish; St. Lawrence Chapel cornerstone laid by Archbishop Kenrick
- St. Lawrence O'Toole Chapel dedicated in 1859; parish renamed Our Lady of Good Counsel between 1873 and 1889
- Present church erected 1889 at Fort Avenue and Towson Street; cornerstone blessed by Cardinal Gibbons
- First settled clergyman: Fr. John P. Hagan, pastor 1886–1897
- School Sisters of Notre Dame staffed the parish school; school closed 1972, merged into Catholic Community School of South Baltimore by 1982
Catholic Community of South Baltimore
In 2002, the parishes of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Holy Cross, and St. Mary, Star of the Sea came under one pastor with one pastoral council and collaborative staff, while each parish remained canonically independent. In April 2008 all staff became unified across the three parishes, and the Catholic Community of South Baltimore (CCSB) now ministers as one body across South Baltimore.
- Fr. Raymond Martin named pastor of all three parishes in 2002
- Fr. Patrick Carrion succeeded Fr. Martin in January 2008
- Fr. Joshua Laws named parish administrator July 2019; installed as pastor October 2020
- Shared Mass schedule, Parish Council, and pastoral/operational staff
- Fr. Kevin Ewing currently serves as pastor of CCSB
Clergy & Staff
The parish is led by Pastor Rev. Kevin Ewing and supported by a team of deacons and lay staff in liturgy, evangelization, operations, music, and facilities — all working in shared ministry across the Catholic Community of South Baltimore.
- Pastor — Rev. Kevin Ewing ([email protected], ext. 1140)
- Deacons — Steve Sarnecki, Ezekiel Yisi, Nando Castrillon, Gabriel Schoone
- Director of Evangelization — Beth Mayr ([email protected], ext. 1100)
- Liturgical Ministry Coordinator — Sue Lear
- Director of Music — Ashley Powers (ext. 1150)
- Director of Operations — Ron Gorman (ext. 1120)
- Facilities Director — Brian Glander (ext. 1160)
- Administrative Assistant — Deb Airey (ext. 1110)
- Parish Council Chair — Matt Bjonerud
- Parish Corporators — Brianne Roth, Matt Urso
- VIRTUS Coordinator — Trish Gillin
Ministries & Small Groups
CCSB invites parishioners into groups that 'know, love, and serve God and our neighbor' — from formation (Bible study, young adults) to outreach (food prep and all-weather compassion teams) to fellowship (Second Sunday Social, Church's Night Out, sports teams).
- Young Adults (20s and 30s)
- Monday Night Bible Study
- Small groups
- CCSB SALT Mt 5:13 Food Prep Team
- CCSB SALT Mt 5:13 All-Weather Compassion Team
- Service nights at Baltimore Station
- Second Sunday Social and Church's Night Out
- Parish sports teams
- Weekly E-bulletin and paper bulletin
Catholic Counseling
CCSB hosts an on-site Catholic counselor several days a week. Counseling is rooted in Catholic values and consistent with Church teaching, and is available to adults, children, couples, and families for anxiety, depression, grief, major life transitions, and relationship challenges. Sessions are confidential and affordable.
- Counselor: Katie Pestka, LGPC
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: (240) 621-2267
Sacraments — Marriage & More
The parish prepares couples for the Sacrament of Matrimony and supports all the usual sacramental ministries. Newcomers preparing for marriage are welcomed to register and join the parish community through social events, sports, small groups, and service nights.
- Marriage preparation, wedding music, cantor / music director involvement through the CCSB wedding program
- Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Funeral rites supported by the parish office
- Confession by appointment with Fr. Kevin Ewing
- Archdiocese-wide Marriage Preparation resources linked from the parish site
Heritage & Records
Parish registers — the most complete surviving archive of sacramental life for South Baltimore's Irish and Polish Catholics from 1860 to 1981 — are preserved on microfilm at the Maryland State Archives. Researchers can access general register 1860–1928; baptisms 1860–1981; marriages 1866–1873 and 1886–1981; interments 1899–1962; deaths 1962–1981; confirmations 1906–1952 and 1956–1981; and first communions 1909–1981.
- Maryland State Archives collection: MSA SC 2679, films SCM 2685–SCM 2688
- Post-1940 baptisms are restricted; written permission from the church required
- Heritage: served Irish and (after WWI) Polish populations; also ministered to Volga German Catholic families in Locust Point
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. James Gibbons (later Cardinal Gibbons)1862–1865
First pastor; also served St. Brigid and as chaplain at Fort McHenry. Crossed the Baltimore Basin on Sundays to minister here.
- Fr. Peter McCoy1866–1885
Consolidated the parish, prepared for a resident priest, and built St. Mary, Star of the Sea church.
- Fr. John P. Hagan (Hogan)1886–1897
First resident pastor of the South Baltimore chapel; planned and oversaw building of the new 1889 Our Lady of Good Counsel church, foundation excavated by parishioners.
- Fr. James Donellan Marr1897–1903
- Fr. John Paul White1903–1904
- Fr. Edward Augustine Williams1904–1908
- Msgr. Robert J. Achstetter1908–1929
Became pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel at age 30.
- Fr. Francis Schwallenbergfrom 1929
Led the parish through the Great Depression and built the modern eight-room school house staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
- Fr. Edward Brahamfrom 1947
- Fr. John McGlone
- Fr. Herbert Derwart
- Fr. Henry Milkowski
- Fr. John Barbernitz
- Fr. David Smith
- Fr. Raymond Martinappointed 2000
In 2002 became pastor of all three South Baltimore parishes, forming the Catholic Community of South Baltimore.
- Fr. Patrick CarrionJanuary 2008 – July 2019
Succeeded Fr. Martin; oversaw full unification of parish staff in April 2008.
- Fr. Joshua Lawsparish administrator July 2019; installed as pastor October 2020
- Rev. Kevin Ewingpresent
Current pastor of the Catholic Community of South Baltimore.