In Memory of Pedro Morales

Pedro Felipe Morales

Spouse: Akemi Morales
Children: Victoria, Catherine, Gloria, and Sungduk
Birthdate: June 5, 1958
Blessing: July 1, 1982
Ascension: May 30, 2022
Seonghwa Ceremony: June 4, 2022

Pedro Felipe Morales Manzano was born on June 5, 1958 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Pedro was the youngest of four siblings. He was the little Benjamin of the family. For that reason, he was always loved and surrounded with so much heart and care.

As a young boy he loved to read the Bible and studied about the life of Jesus. In fact, he has been writing a book about John the Baptist for the past 20 years. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to finish.

Some special ladies in Pedro’s family laid a foundation of faith in Christ and prepared him to meet the Lord of the Second Advent.

First, he was very close to his grandmother's aunt (titi Mencha) who lived in their house, and she taught him how to pray. As a child he would suffer from asthma attacks and sometimes he needed to stay in the hospital to receive oxygen treatments. His grandmother, Maria Luisa, lived with them and took care of him when he was sick while his parents (Pepin and Alida) were busy working during the day. He learned how to sacrificially love others from his grandmother. Pedro grew very attached to his grandmother and his grandmother's aunt. 

On the weekends he and his brother, Jose, would travel to Caguas, a town outside the city, to visit their great-grandmother, Jacoba. They loved visiting, and their great-grandmother would give them candy that she used to sell to the neighborhood kids from her homemade shop. They also visited their other grandmother's aunt (titi Quiteria) who was blind and lived nearby.

All these special ladies nurtured his ability to love from God’s viewpoint. From his father, Pedro inherited his strong will and calmness. From his mother, he inherited her heart of loving other people.

When Pedro was in 10th grade, his family moved to New York City. Pedro, Jose and their twin sisters loved walking on the sidewalk next to the Hudson River. God was preparing the environment for his family to meet the Lord of the Second Advent.

One day a Japanese brother and sister came to visit their apartment on 90th Street, the East side of Manhattan. Noburu and Kuniko invited Pedro and his brother, Jose, to attend a weekend workshop in Tarrytown, NY. At the workshop, they had deep experiences hearing the Divine Principle. They were in awe of the beauty and depth of this truth and decided to investigate even further.

After the workshop Pedro joined HARP (High School Association for the Research of Principles) while he was in high school. Eventually, they both joined the Unification movement and moved to California to work in CARP, LA (Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles). While working with CARP, Pedro and his brother joined a Karate team led by Takao Onoda.

Pedro and Jose taught Karate at three universities and one high school in California and witnessed on campuses to help young people. Pedro was very smart, and he could give deep Divine Principle lectures conveying the heart and truth of God. In 1982 Pedro completed his degree in Marketing at the California State University, LA campus.

In 1982 Pedro was blessed in Madison Square Garden with a lovely Japanese sister named Akemi Arashiro.  As a life-long learner, Pedro enrolled at UTS in 1988 and graduated in 1990. Being a person who was always seeking to become the best he could be, he later enrolled in the Doctorate program at UTS in 2021 seeking to attain the skills needed to accomplish his portion of responsibility for heaven. He had completed 2 semesters before passing to the spiritual world.

Shortly after his graduation in 1990, True Father sent Pedro and Akemi to Puerto Rico as leaders. Along with another sister who had been working many years in Puerto Rico, he prepared many activities. Pedro and Akemi worked together for many years in Puerto Rico, teaching the Divine Principle and loving people with a parental heart. It is here they raised their family.

It wasn't an easy path, and Pedro had many challenges that seemed to come like the ocean waves pounding against the shore. But Pedro never gave up and was deeply motivated by the words True Father said to him: “Puerto Rico belongs to you.”  Pedro repeated those words often. Pedro was a very honest and righteous man of God.

Pedro was pastor in Puerto Rico from 1990-1997 and became state leader in 2014 until his passing. He is survived by his wife Akemi and his children Victoria, Catherine, Gloria, and Sungduk. 

His brother, Jose, shares this about Pedro:

“What I admired most about my brother was his unflinching spirit and determination to serve and love God, True Parents, and people. He always had a grateful heart towards God and True Parents and a profound desire to become a true son of filial piety. He was a good son, a good brother, an excellent husband, and a great father. We definitely will miss him, and we pray for him to have a wonderful transition between earth and heaven and a good journey ascending to our Heavenly Father.

Seonghwa Ceremony

Date: Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 1:00 PM (Viewing will begin at 12:00 PM)
Location: Ehret Funeral Home (Urb. Antonsanti #4 Calle Brema, Rio Piedras, P.R. 00927)

Join the ceremony by Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82476217939
Meeting ID: 824 7621 7939

Donations accepted to support the Seonghwa and burial cost: https://gofund.me/fd37aa72