About Our Lady of Good Counsel · Wilmont, Minnesota
Our Lady of Good Counsel is a rural Catholic parish of approximately 155 families in Wilmont, Minnesota, in the southwestern Minnesota county of Nobles. Founded in 1903, the parish is named for the Marian title Our Lady of Good Counsel and is one of four parishes in the St. Adrian Catholic Cluster, alongside St. Adrian in Adrian, St. Anthony in Lismore, and St. Kilian in St. Kilian. The cluster is pastored by Monsignor Richard Colletti and is part of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester. Visitors and new members are warmly welcomed to worship with this small, tight-knit farming community.
- Established
- 1903
- Patron
- Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Rector
- Monsignor Richard Colletti
- Diocese
- Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Why belong here
Our Lady of Good Counsel offers the warmth of a small, rural Catholic community where every family is known by name, rooted in more than a century of faith in Nobles County. Parishioners share Sunday worship and a full Catholic life — including faith formation for children and youth, OCIA (formerly RCIA), an active Parish Pastoral Council, a Parish Finance Council, and the Calvary Cemetery Association — together with three neighboring parishes under one pastor. With weekday and Sunday Mass, regular confessions, and an active Unbound Prayer Ministry, it is a place where country Catholics can find both spiritual depth and neighborly fellowship.
Mass times at Our Lady of Good Counsel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:00 AM (Our Lady of Good Counsel, Wilmont)
Adoration times
- Thursday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (at St. Adrian, Adrian — cluster-wide adoration)
About Our Lady of Good Counsel
Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church is a rural parish of about 155 families in Wilmont, Minnesota, in Nobles County. Founded in 1903, the parish takes its name from the popular Marian devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel, whose feast is celebrated on April 26. The parish is one of four parishes in the St. Adrian Catholic Cluster and belongs to the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Visitors and new members are always welcome to come and worship.
- Founded in 1903
- Approximately 155 families
- Member of the St. Adrian Catholic Cluster
- Diocese of Winona-Rochester
- Patroness: Our Lady of Good Counsel (feast April 26)
History of the Parish
The parish traces its beginnings to 1903, when three local businessmen of Wilmont determined that the growing Catholic population needed its own church. Before that year, Catholic families in the area traveled to St. Kilian for Sunday Mass. The first pastor, Father Joseph Zahner, simultaneously served St. Anthony Catholic Church in Lismore — a pastoral partnership that prefigured today's four-parish cluster arrangement.
- 1903: Parish founded; Catholic families previously attended Mass at St. Kilian
- First pastor: Fr. Joseph Zahner (also pastor of St. Anthony, Lismore)
- Over 100 years of continuous Catholic life in Wilmont
St. Adrian Catholic Cluster
Our Lady of Good Counsel is part of a four-parish Catholic cluster organized around St. Adrian in Adrian, Minnesota. The other parishes are St. Anthony in Lismore, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Wilmont, and St. Kilian in St. Kilian. Sharing a pastor (Monsignor Richard Colletti) and staff, the cluster coordinates its Mass schedule, faith formation, youth ministry, OCIA, finances, and sacramental preparation across all four communities.
- St. Adrian – Adrian
- St. Anthony – Lismore
- Our Lady of Good Counsel – Wilmont
- St. Kilian – St. Kilian
- Pastor: Monsignor Richard Colletti
Clergy and Staff
The St. Adrian Catholic Cluster is pastored by Monsignor Richard Colletti. Cluster staff — including a Faith Formation Director, Pastoral Associate, Youth Minister, secretary, bookkeeper, and custodians — serve all four parishes, including Our Lady of Good Counsel.
- Pastor: Father Richard Colletti (Monsignor Richard Colletti)
- Pastoral Associate: Jody Richters
- Director of Faith Formation / OCIA: Pam Konz
- Youth and Young Adult Ministry: Kadence Entinger
- Parish Cluster Secretary: Mary Christensen
- Parish Cluster Bookkeeper: Amelia Brake
- Elementary Classes & OCIA: Roxanne Kemper
- Custodian – OLGC: Mara Hotovec
- Custodian (cluster): Ben Cook
Parish Organizations and Councils
Our Lady of Good Counsel is governed in collaboration with its pastor through a Parish Pastoral Council and a Parish Finance Council. These councils advise the pastor in matters of pastoral ministry (per Canon Law 528–529) and parish administration (Canon 532). A Parish Council of Catholic Women and other parish organizations support the parish's spiritual and community life.
- Parish Pastoral Council members: Rebecca Remarkel, Duane Burkard, Scott Schettler, Shirley Meyer, Teri Spartz
- Donna Bertrand – Diocesan Council Representative
- Gene Bertrand – Parish Finance Council Representative
- Parish Finance Council – advises the pastor on temporal goods (Canon 532)
Calvary Cemetery Association
The Our Lady of Good Counsel Calvary Cemetery Association maintains the parish cemetery. Its board consists of five directors: the Bishop of the Diocese of Winona (now Diocese of Winona-Rochester) and the diocesan director of cemeteries, who serve ex officio, plus the parish pastor and lay trustees and members responsible for the cemetery's properties and funds.
- Ex officio: Bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester; Diocesan Director of Cemeteries; Pastor
- Trustee & Bookkeeper: Alan Balster
- Trustee: Harry Springman
- Directors include David Balster, Jack Slater, Cindy Balster, David Reets, Kevin Spartz, David Bertrand, Rodney Burkard
Faith Formation and Youth Ministry
Faith formation for the four parishes is coordinated through a single 4-Parish Faith Formation Program serving students in Grades 5–12, while Release-Time classes are offered for Grades 1–4 in coordination with the Fulda and Worthington public school systems. A Youth and Young Adult Ministry, led by Kadence Entinger, provides ongoing spiritual and social activities for teens and young adults across the cluster.
- 4-Parish Faith Formation (Grades 5–12)
- Release-Time Religious Education (Grades 1–4) — Fulda and Worthington public schools
- Youth and Young Adult Ministry
- OCIA (formerly RCIA) — cluster-wide
- Adult Faith Formation opportunities
Unbound Prayer Ministry
The cluster offers the Unbound Prayer Ministry, a deliverance-style prayer based on five keys drawn from Neal Lozano's Unbound model: repentance and deeper faith (key 1), forgiveness (key 2), renunciation (key 3), authority over one's own soul as a baptized Christian (key 4), and receiving the Father's blessing (key 5). The ministry works alongside — not in place of — sacramental confession, and helps participants cooperate with God's grace to free them from spiritual bondages.
- Five Keys: Repentance, Forgiveness, Renunciation, Authority, Father's Blessing
- Conducted by appointment through the cluster
- Recognized and promoted by the Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Cluster-Wide Catholic Education
Parishioners of Our Lady of Good Counsel support the St. Mary Catholic School Fund Organization, contributing to the continued presence of Catholic elementary education in the region. The parish also supports Release-Time religious instruction for public school students in Fulda and Worthington.
- St. Mary Catholic School Fund Organization
- Release-Time classes coordinated with Fulda and Worthington public schools
Contact and Location
Our Lady of Good Counsel is located at 605 4th Avenue in Wilmont, Minnesota. Parish and cluster business is conducted through the St. Adrian Catholic Cluster office.
- Address: 605 4th Ave, Wilmont, MN 56185
- Phone: (507) 483-2317
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.stadriancluster.org
- Diocese: Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Joseph Zahner1903–
First pastor; concurrently served as pastor of St. Anthony, Lismore.
- Fr. Timothy J. Hall
Previously served as cluster pastor; named on the old OLGC organizations page.