We want to welcome Father Joseph Matitu, SSS, to St. Joseph Parish. We are glad you are with us, and we certainly hope you will be happy here! We are looking forward to getting to know you. God Bless you and thank you for being part of our Parish.
From the Desk of Fr. Matitu, SSS:
Grace and peace be with you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Fr. Joseph Matitu, SSSIt is with profound joy and deep gratitude that I introduce myself to you. My name is Fr. Joseph Dela Cruz Matitu, SSS, a Filipino priest of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. I was born on April 11, 1968, in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, and I am the eldest of four children of my late parents, Bienvenido and Amelia Matitu.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, I discerned the quiet but unmistakable call of God to the priesthood. In May 1989, I entered the Blessed Sacrament Seminary. On April 25, 1992 - now thirty-four years ago - I professed the evangelical vows of poverty, chastity,
and obedience in the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. The initials "SSS" after my name stand for Societas Sanctissimi Sacramenti - the Society of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
I was ordained to the priesthood on June 28, 1997, almost twenty-nine years ago. My first three years of ministry were spent as an assistant formator in our Novitiate, the second - and arguably the most demanding - stage of religious formation. Soon after, I was missioned to Uganda in East Africa, a chapter of my life that shaped my heart in ways I still carry today. Upon returning to the Philippines, I served in two parish assignments before being elected, in October 2014, as the sixth Provincial Superior of the Philippine Province of our Congregation. After completing my term, I returned to parish ministry once more until I was called to serve in the Diocese of Pueblo.
I arrived in the Diocese on January 17, 2022. After a month of orientation, I was first assigned as an assistant and later appointed parish administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe/St. Patrick Parish in La Junta, while also being entrusted with the pastoral care of St. Mary Parish in Las Animas.
After nearly four years, on November 15, 2025, I began my current assignment at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Rocky Ford. Each Sunday, I also celebrate Mass in Ordway (St. Peter Parish) and in Fowler (Queen of Heaven Mission Station).
As I begin this new chapter, I look forward with hope and humility to walking with you in faith - sharing in the sacramental life of this beautiful parish community of St. Joseph and laboring with you to advance the mission that Christ has entrusted to us all.
