About Our Lady of Good Counsel · Dorris, California
Our Lady of Good Counsel is a small Catholic mission church in the rural city of Dorris, in Siskiyou County, on the Oregon border in far northern California. It is a mission of Holy Cross Parish in Tulelake, twenty-five miles to the east, and has been cared for by the priests of the Tulelake parish since its establishment in 1949. The parish is part of the Diocese of Sacramento's Siskiyou Deanery, and — like its parent parish — serves a community that is heavily Spanish-speaking and rooted in the agricultural life of the Tulelake Basin. Weekend liturgy is celebrated on Sunday mornings, with both English and Spanish Masses, and the mission is well known for its Marian grotto built in the early 1980s.
- Established
- 1949
- Patron
- Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Rector
- Rev. Edgardo Garcia (Parochial Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sacramento
Why belong here
Our Lady of Good Counsel is a small but devoted Catholic mission serving the Dorris community on California's far northern border. It offers weekly Sunday Mass in both English and Spanish, weekday Mass with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Fridays, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Thursdays, all in the heart of a rural, agricultural community. Generations of farmworking families have made this mission their spiritual home, gathered around the Marian grotto built by Father Canny in the 1980s, and the parish continues to be a welcoming place for anyone seeking the Eucharist in this remote stretch of Siskiyou County.
Mass times at Our Lady of Good Counsel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 5:00 PM (or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Friday 6:00 PM (Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament), followed by Mass at 7:00 PM
History of Our Lady of Good Counsel Mission
Our Lady of Good Counsel Mission traces its origins to November 1948, when Bishop Robert Armstrong of Sacramento established Holy Cross Parish in Tulelake and appointed Father Francis Sullivan as its founding pastor. From the very beginning, the small mission church in Dorris — twenty-five miles west of Tulelake — was part of that foundation. The two communities have shared pastors ever since, with Our Lady of Good Counsel remaining a mission of Holy Cross. In the early 1980s Father Michael Canny, the fourth pastor of Holy Cross, built a Marian grotto at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Dorris (and a matching one at Holy Cross in Tulelake), giving the mission its distinctive Marian character that endures today.
- Founded 1949 as a mission of Holy Cross Parish, Tulelake, established November 1948 by Bishop Robert Armstrong
- Founding pastor: Father Francis Sullivan (1948–1950)
- Father Michael Canny (1981–1987) built the Marian grotto at the Dorris mission
- Father Patrick Henry (1993–2000) launched the Spanish-language ministry
- Mission celebrated the December 12 (Our Lady of Guadalupe) cultural feast annually
Clergy & Pastoral Care
Our Lady of Good Counsel Mission does not have a resident pastor. It is cared for by the clergy of Holy Cross Parish in Tulelake, under the Diocese of Sacramento. As of the latest diocesan listing, the Parochial Administrator of the mission is Rev. Edgardo Garcia, working alongside Rev. Jose Campos, Parochial Administrator of the parent Holy Cross Parish in Tulelake. Priests historically drive in for Sunday Mass — sometimes in difficult winter weather over rural mountain roads.
- Rev. Edgardo Garcia — current Parochial Administrator (per Diocese of Sacramento parish page)
- Rev. Jose Campos — Parochial Administrator, Holy Cross Parish, Tulelake (parent parish)
- Rev. Rene L. Labrador — listed as Parochial Administrator in the 2019–2020 diocesan directory
Parish Identity & Patron
The mission is named for Our Lady of Good Counsel, an ancient Marian title associated with the Augustinian icon of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio at Genazzano, Italy. The parish's Marian identity was deepened in the 1980s when Father Michael Canny built a grotto dedicated to the Blessed Virgin on the mission grounds. Today the parish remains a small, Marian-centered Catholic community serving Dorris and the surrounding agricultural area of northern Siskiyou County.
- Patron: Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Marian grotto built by Father Michael Canny in the early 1980s
- Annual December 12 (Our Lady of Guadalupe) cultural celebration
Community & Cultural Life
The Dorris mission reflects the makeup of the surrounding Tulelake Basin — a rural, agricultural area whose Catholic faithful are predominantly Hispanic farmworkers and their families. This demographic reality has shaped the mission's liturgical life: alongside the English Mass there is a robust Spanish-language Mass, and the December 12 celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a particularly important event in the parish calendar.
- Largely Hispanic, farmworking community
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) liturgical life
- December 12 (Our Lady of Guadalupe) celebration held at the Dorris mission
Sacraments
Our Lady of Good Counsel offers regular opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Thursday 5:00 PM or by appointment) and the Eucharist (Sunday and Friday Masses). For other sacraments — Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, and Anointing of the Sick — preparation is coordinated with Holy Cross Parish in Tulelake and the diocesan offices of the Diocese of Sacramento.
- Reconciliation: Thursday 5:00 PM or by appointment
- Eucharist: Sunday 11:30 AM (English) and 12:30 PM (Spanish); Friday 7:00 PM
- Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation: coordinated with Holy Cross Parish and the Diocese of Sacramento
Holy Cross Parish, Tulelake — Parent Parish
Our Lady of Good Counsel Mission is administered as part of Holy Cross Parish in Tulelake, founded in November 1948 by Bishop Robert Armstrong of Sacramento. From that founding, the priest assigned to Holy Cross has also served the Catholic faithful of Dorris. The parish today includes the Tulelake church and the Dorris mission, both within the Diocese of Sacramento's Siskiyou Deanery.
- Established 1949 (Diocese of Sacramento)
- Located in the Siskiyou Deanery
- Shares clergy, religious education, and sacramental preparation with Our Lady of Good Counsel
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Rene L. Labradorlisted as Parochial Administrator c. 2019–2020 diocesan directory
Listed in the Sacramento diocesan directory as Parochial Administrator of Holy Cross Parish and its Dorris mission.
- Rev. Francis Sullivan1948–1950
Founding pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Tulelake; founded together with the Dorris mission under Bishop Robert Armstrong.
- Rev. Michael Canny1981–1987
Fourth pastor; built the Marian grotto at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Dorris and at Holy Cross in Tulelake; installed painted stained-glass windows.
- Rev. Patrick Henry1993–2000
Inaugurated the Spanish-language ministry for the large Hispanic farmworker community in the parish.