Deacon Carlos Morales, whose ministry included work as a university dean of students, radio host and author, and who accompanied thousands of people in their faith, died of liver cancer Sept. 22 in Edgewood. He was 82.
Deacon Morales spent most of his life in his native Puerto Rico. In 2018, he moved to Maryland from the Archdiocese of San Juan with his wife, Gloria Torres de Morales, to be near their daughter Gloria after she lost her husband. He served in diaconal ministry at St. Francis de Sales in Abingdon, Prince of Peace in Edgewood and, during retirement, the Pastorate of Holy Spirit in Joppa and St. Stephen in Bradshaw.
“The stuff that he did for the Church, he didn’t even consider [it] a job. It was more like something he was born to do,” said his daughter Gloria, who remembered that her father always called her “princess.”
“Whenever I needed something, he would solve it,” she said. “He was that kind of a father, he was always there. He was always there for me.”
Deacon Morales was born on New Year’s Eve 1943 in Caguas, Puerto Rico. He and his wife married in 1965 in San Juan, where he attended elementary school. A graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, he earned degrees in social sciences and social work and participated in ROTC. He entered the diaconate at ISTEPA Seminary in San Juan and was ordained in 1981.
His diaconate in Puerto Rico centered on Corpus Christi Parish in the Monte Carlo section of San Juan, where he and his wife shared the role of parish administrator. He also served as chaplain of the Puerto Rico Senate and San Jose de Capistrano Mental Health Hospital, a government counselor, a teacher at a military academy and a professor at Puerto Rico Junior College.
From 1991 to 2016, he was a social sciences professor and dean of students at the University of the Sacred Heart in San Juan. During that time, he also provided pastoral services, organized relief trips to Haiti, wrote a novel and four self-help books and hosted a Catholic radio show.
His background in social work and counseling influenced his ministry in Maryland, including his work with Hispanic Catholics at St. Francis de Sales.
“He was a friend to every immigrant and person who came over to the Hispanic services,” Gloria said. “He wasn’t somebody just reciting something from the pulpit. He would actually move around. If he had a song that would apply, he would sing it. If he had to stomp on the floor, he would do it. He did what he needed to do in order to do a proper homily.”
He began serving at the Pastorate of Holy Spirit and St. Stephen to help meet a need in the parish, according to then-pastor Father George Gannon.
“Deacon Morales approached me and offered to help in any way that he could,” said Father Gannon, who now serves as pastor of the Pastorate of St. Joseph in Hagerstown, St. James in Boonesboro and St. Augustine in Williamsport.
“He knew that we couldn’t do everything with the current clergy staffing,” Father Gannon said. “He was willing, even when it was difficult for him, to contribute what he could so that we could do what we could do for the people. He loved the people.”
Deacon Morales also served as associate chaplain for the Corpus Christi Council of the Knights of Columbus in Edgewood.
“His guidance was gentle but deep and spoke from his life experience and what he discerned from the Knights themselves,” said Johnathan Morse of the Knights’ council. He also witnessed Deacon Morales battle liver cancer with grace.
“His illness was also inspirational in that he spoke little of it, but it sparked greater understanding of prayer.”
Deacon Ed Ramos of the Pastorate of Holy Spirit and St. Stephen ministered to Deacon Morales in his final months, bringing the Eucharist to him and his wife.
“He really had a very positive outlook about his illness. He just took his illness as another opportunity to live his life for Christ, and he didn’t look at it as something out of the ordinary,” Deacon Ramos said. “When you see that type of dedication and service from someone who’s been the bedrock of their parish for a long time, you’d sense a feeling of palpable joy in their hearts. And every time that I went to visit him and Gloria, I could detect that joy.”
Deacon Morales’ service to the church was a consistent part of his professional and personal life in Puerto Rico and Maryland.
“He would simply say life is service,” his daughter said. “That was his thing.”
A viewing will be held Oct. 3, 9 a.m. to noon, at Holy Spirit in Joppa, followed by a funeral Mass at noon.
Deacon Morales is survived by his wife and daughter, son Carlos Jr., daughter-in-law Sharissa Morales, grandson Jean Carlos Morales and nephew Ramon Torres. He was preceded in death by his parents, Josefina Rodriguez and Pedro Morales, and three brothers: Jose Enrique, Jose Ramon in infancy, and Pedro.
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