Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) serves a growing community of faithful on the “Edge of America.” As early as 1937, when Folly Island was a sparsely populated summer vacation spot with fewer than a dozen permanent residents, Mass was offered in community buildings.  By the late 1940s a dedicated group of faithful Catholics led by Father John J. McCarthy built the mission style brick church named for Our Lady of Good Counsel.   The first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day in 1950. 
 
The tight-knit community looked after the church building and welcomed visitors, but did not have the resources to support it’s own pastor.  For much of our history, OLGC was considered a mission of the Church of the Nativity on James Island. As such, the faithful were served of a score of dedicated and generous priests from nearby parishes. Among the most memorable was Father Robert J. Kelly, who was pastor of Nativity from 1979-1985. 
 
Father Edward F. Mullen, the first priest to take up residence on Folly Beach, served from 1988 until his retirement in 1992. He shepherded the faithful of Folly through one the community’s most trying ordeals—Hurricane Hugo, a massive category four storm, which made landfall in 1989. After this disaster, properties were repaired and Folly experienced a period of rapid growth. 
 
In the years that followed, Father Ronald C. Cellini oversaw the construction of our parish hall, and a new rectory, which was completed in 1996. That same year Father Kelly, now a Monsignor, returned to OLGC. He continued his ministry until his death on September 6, 2004. After his passing, the hall was named the “Father Kelly Parish Hall” in honor of his great love for the OLGC church and community. 
 
In 2006, with the installation of Monsignor Charles H. Rowland as our first pastor, Our Lady of Good Counsel finally became a parish. The parish office was constructed as an adjunct to the rectory in 2009.
 
Our current parish priest, Rev. Father Henry Kulah, was appointed pastor in December 2022.