Diocese of North Carolina Announces the Rev. Franklin Morales as New Canon Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries

The Diocese of North Carolina announces today that the Rev. Franklin Morales will soon join the staff as the new canon missioner for Latino/Hispanic ministries.

A native of Venezuela, Morales is a priest ordained in the Lutheran (ECLA) tradition, a denomination with which The Episcopal Church is in full communion. He currently serves two congregations: St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, as the associate pastor; and the La Sagrada Familia community in Langley Park, Virginia. Prior to his time at St. Luke’s and La Sagrada Familia, Morales was first an ordained priest in the Catholic Church, where he served for more than four years before his faith journey led him to seek ways to serve that were as open and inclusive as a community can be, and, as he wrote in “A Venezuelan’s Personal Reformation and Journey of Faith,” to “preach a Gospel that would establish a personal relationship with Jesus, through serving others and the creation itself.”

“Franklin has the experience, the energy, the training and the passion we have sought to support our thriving Latino ministries,” said the Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson, assistant bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina. “His pastoral sensitivity and gentle sense of humor, and his focus on relationships and formation, help to open hearts to Christ and his Church. Franklin is going to help our diocese fall deeper in love with the rich spirituality and cultural diversity of our Latino siblings, bringing us together to build beloved community. We are thrilled!”

The canon missioner for Latino/Hispanic ministries is not a new position for the Diocese; it has been a key role in our diocesan mission since it was first created in 2018 to serve the work of the ever-growing number of worship communities and outreach ministries addressing the needs of North Carolina’s Latino/Hispanic population. It is a natural fit for Morales, whose work with La Sagrada Familia has included, in addition to community building alongside spiritual nurturing and formation, care for at-risk children through after-school programs, ESL classes and advocacy for equality and social justice. That work “has been a blessing to our lives,” he wrote.

In addition to his work with our worshiping communities, Morales will help guide the Diocese in its ongoing journey to advance the cultural competency needed to be the Body of Christ in North Carolina’s multicultural state. He will work closely with diocesan governing bodies, churches across the Diocese and the entire diocesan staff. He will report to Bishop Brooke-Davidson.

Morales begins his tenure July 1.