For more than six years, Most Precious Blood and Queen of Heaven Parishes have been working together in a linkage with a single Pastor. Because both parishes have remained independent throughout this linkage, they each have their own Finance Council, and the administrative and financial work can often be redundant. Because both parishes are already accustomed to sharing a Pastor, a consolidation of Most Precious Blood and Queen of Heaven Parishes occurred on July 1, 2025. A consolidation of two (or more) parishes combines the resources of the existing parishes and actively creates a new, combined parish. This move allows for streamlined administrative and financial work.

For Parish Financial Reports and Statistics please scroll to the bottom of the page.

Consolidation message as of January 31st 2026.

The parishioners of Our Lady of Peace, having recently come together in a merger of two distinct parishes, are beginning to “see together” as a single community of faith. It is a time of adjustment for all of us, and we take to heart the urgent plea in last Sunday’s readings: “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10). 

Our purpose is clear. We are to follow the words of Christ in the Great Commission, to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all God has commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). What do we need to accomplish this purpose? This will be the focal point of conversation in the months ahead as we embrace our diversity from our unity in Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Bishop Bambera has asked us to evaluate the future of Our Lady of Grace Church and make a recommendation to him. Our careful evaluation will include consideration of several Priority Drivers: Priests, Finances, Facilities, and Parish Life. The newly formed councils, who represent you, are collecting and analyzing information in order that ours is a data-driven recommendation, even as sentiments for a sacred space abound. The entire parish will be made aware of this information through the parish bulletin and website. 

Most pressing is the diminishing number of diocesan priests. When a pastor retires, Bishop is challenged to replace him because very few priests are available to serve in this capacity. As a result, pastors are asked to take on multiple parishes, sometimes with the help of an assistant pastor. Our parish will be directly affected when in early 2027, Our Lady of Peace Parish will link with Saints Cyril & Methodius Parish, under a single pastor. A Spanish-speaking assistant pastor will likely be assigned as well. 

These two parishes have an abundance of facilities. In addition to the 3 churches, there are 3 rectories, 3 school buildings, and 4 cemeteries. As we discern the future of Our Lady of Peace Parish, we will carefully consider the need for all these structures and the amount of financial resources necessary to maintain them. As a parish, our focus is on mission and increasing the vitality of the Catholic Church in the city of Hazleton.

The councils will meet on February 11, 2026, to review finances and parish life statistics, which will be shared with you in the coming weeks. 

Consolidation message as of February 22 2026.

Parish Life is one of the aspects we consider when reviewing all the information that will help us to determine the future of Our Lady of Grace Church, along with finances, facilities, and priest availability. For this reason, I want to give you a little more detail about how the changing complexion of our city is reflected in our parish, using the statistics which were shared several weekends ago.

Over the last 5 years, the sacramental life at Queen of Heaven has been growing, with a total of 241 Baptisms, 93 First Communions, and 71 Confirmations. This has been a great blessing to our community! Upon closer examination, I discovered that 84% of these sacraments took place in our Hispanic community. In fact, last year only 8 sacraments were conferred in the English-speaking community: 1 Baptism, 4 First Communions, and 3 Confirmations. Sadly, the same is not true for funerals. Of the 37 funerals last year, only one was for a member of the Hispanic community. You can see how this reality mirrors the demographic changes in Hazleton.

The Hispanic community continues to grow in both size and vibrancy - so much so that they have outgrown the space at Our Lady of Grace and are seeking a new parish home that will better accommodate their needs. The linkage with Saints Cyril & Methodius may provide new opportunities for all of us, sharing not only a pastor but also welcoming one another into our churches and our homes.

As disciples of Christ, we are called to be good stewards of the many blessings God has provided, and to use all God bestows upon us to build up his Kingdom in our little section of the world. The future of Our Lady of Peace Parish is still unfolding. What do we need to accomplish the mission? How can we best use the resources at our disposal? 

Consolidation Message as of March 1st, 2026

Over the next several weeks, I will continue to share information that will help us determine the future of Our Lady of Grace Church. I ask for your continued prayers as we discern the best way forward, together. May this Lenten season increase our attentiveness to the Holy Spirit’s voice and may we be docile to God’s direction.

Over the last several weeks, we have looked at financial and parish life trends, which are two of the priority drivers taken into consideration when determining the future of Our Lady of Grace Church. This week we will look at facility costs.

Just like the homes we live in, our church “homes” cost money to operate. In fact, our parish spends around $1300 each week just to keep the doors of Our Lady of Grace facilities open. This breakdown gives an idea of our expenses last year.

Occupancy Costs - Our Lady of Grace

Description                                           Expense

Contracted Janitorial Services          $7,237.76
Other Contracted Services                 $6,024.57
Electricity                                              $8,000.45
Heating                                               $10,839.42
Water/Sewer                                        $3,912.88
Maintenance Supplies                        $6,248.93 

General Repairs                                      $360.00 

Self-Insurance                                    $26,016.00 

TOTAL                                 $68,640.01 

The church building of Our Lady of Grace also has significant repair costs. Those who have been parishioners for many years will agree that this is not a new problem, but it is a problem that is ours to deal with now, with Bishop’s request for a recommendation about the future of the church.

Last year, Quandel Energy Solutions was contracted to provide an objective, outside expert Facility Needs Assessment, which estimates $3,620,200 in repairs to the church building over the next 10 years. The immediate need – over the next 3 years – is $2,486,700. This independent study details repairing the coping stones, parapet walls and finials, upgrading flashing, replacing caulking and repointing where necessary, and replacing the cupola, among other repairs. 

As we look to the future with hope, we must determine our best chance as a healthy, vibrant community, spreading the Gospel, calling forth vocations and caring for those in need. I ask for your continued prayers as we discern God’s will considering the challenges we face. May His will be done.

Consolidation message as of March 29th 2026.

Parish Meeting Invitation:  We extend an open invitation to a parish meeting to be held at Moran Funeral Home located on 13th Street on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, beginning at 6pm. On that evening, we will “walk through” all the facts considered by the parish finance and pastoral councils the past several months which also have been shared in parish bulletin announcements and on the parish website. Please feel free to attend the meeting which will sum up the rationale for an extremely difficult recommendation we must give to Bishop Bambera regarding Our Lady of Grace Church. 
Our Lady of Peace Financial Status Since 1 July 2025:
In the overall detail of figures presented, it is obvious that we are just about making it financially as a new parish. It is very clear that funds raised are funds spent on keeping a non-profit organization fiscally stable. Therefore, sharing a few important factors not apparent in this financial overview must be shared. The first factor of note is that our parish has a substantial amount of money in savings, but we have not been able to deposit money there for quite a while. In fact, there have been a couple of instances where some money on deposit has been used to bolster the General Operating Account when the monthly general account balance needed funds. The second factor to consider is that the parish has three rectories, three churches, two school buildings and a parish cemetery in its care. The facilities are old and constantly in need of maintenance and upkeep, especially those that incur high costs for structural upkeep. It is important to realize that this is the case at both sites of worship. The implication here is having the funds for upkeep are not generated as the overview indicates. The third factor to consider is that contributions to the parish through the parish offertory envelope system are not, and rarely ever have been, sufficient to cover all the expenses for keeping a non-profit business financially stable. In fact, as you well know, the cost of everything continues to climb. Note well that a considerable amount of money has been raised through various fundraising efforts sponsored by the MPB site. Moreover, fundraising efforts have hit the limits as to what and when can be done to increase revenue. We owe a debt of gratitude to all who give of their time, talent and treasure to help the parish remain financially stable. There is no way to put a dollar amount on such the human resource it takes accomplish such incredible fundraising work. But without their efforts, we would be in a much more difficult situation financially.
Indeed, it looks like we are breaking even, or slightly to the better, at this moment. However, the implications touching upon financial stability and the future success of the parish cannot be overstated, namely, we will need monies to continue to operate and to maintain and upkeep properties that the current picture does not afford. This is especially important in the larger context, namely, when Our Lady of Peace and Saints Cyril and Methodius parishes are linked with only two priests available for parish ministry. Thank you for your generosity and your understanding!