 Batista was ordained a priest on November 30, 1870.After his ordination he returned to Crato and taught Latin in the Colégio Padre Ibiapina, founded and directed by José Joaquim Teles Marrocos, his cousin and friend.For Christmas of 1871, invited by his teacher Simeão Correia de Macedo, Batista visited for the first time the small community of Juazeiro (which at the time was part of Crato) and celebrated the traditional "Missa do galo" (Mass at Dawn).