HAZLETON – Saint Gabriel Church, 122 South Wyoming Street, Hazleton, the primary worship site of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina Parish, will be the setting for the Sacrament of Holy Orders to be conferred upon Deacon Jose Luis Batista Castillo, O.S.J., by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
The Mass will take place at 5:00 p.m.
Concelebrants of the Mass will be Oblates of Saint Joseph priests of the “Holy Spouses” Province (USA) and Diocesan clergy.
A Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated the following evening, July 2, at 6:00 p.m. in the Oblates of Saint Joseph Chapel, Route 315, Laflin.
Homilist for the Mass will be Rev. Matthew Spencer, O.S.J., former provincial superior, currently serving at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Bakersfield, Calif.
Receptions will follow both the Masses of Ordination & Thanksgiving.
Deacon Castillo is a native of the Dominican Republic with his parents and family migrating to Hazleton in his childhood years.
He became familiar with the Congregation of the Oblates of Saint Joseph when the former Annunciation Parish was under the pastoral care of the religious Order from 2009 – 2023.
He entered the formation program of the Oblates of Saint Joseph located near Sacramento, Calif., with his academic formation at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia; and St. Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, Calif.
During his diaconate year he has been serving at the Oblate-staffed parish of Saint Joachim Parish, Madera, Calif., in the Diocese of Fresno.