![]() He lived there until age 15 and at some point found his Christian faith. “It didn’t matter what your station in life or nationality, if he met you, he fell in love with you very quickly.”īorn in Passaic, N.J., Cerullo was orphaned at age 2, and he and his four siblings were placed at the Daughters of Miriam Jewish orphanage in Clifton, N.J. ![]() “He smiled easily and he loved easily and he absolutely loved people,” Penner said. Penner said Cerullo behind the scenes was very much the friendly, affectionate man known to television viewers worldwide. Tourism Televangelist opens his Bible-themed attraction - from wailing wall and catacombs to luxury lodgingĬonceived by pentecostal preacher Morris Cerullo, the $190 million Mission Valley project could become a draw for tourists “So it’s multiple people in multiple nations carrying that mantle forward, not just one person sitting in San Diego,” he said. In the aftermath of his death, Cerullo’s wife of 69 years, Theresa Cerullo, has taken on a leadership role in the ministry, which Penner said was organized many years ago to survive its founder by training ministers worldwide. “He was extremely excited to see Legacy completed and people enjoying it.”ĭespite Cerullo’s advanced age, Penner said he remained “active every hour of every day” in the ministry, which employs about 100 people at its offices in San Diego, London, Holland and Canada. “It was definitely a dream fulfilled,” Penner said. Jim Penner, executive director of the Legacy Center Foundation at Morris Cerullo World Evangalism, said on Monday that it meant the world to Cerullo that he lived long enough to see the Legacy International Center open to the public. “It will be up to the owners and operators of this complex to demonstrate that they are inclusive of the LGBT community, and if they demonstrate that, I’m sure it will be a welcome addition to the community.” Cerullo’s history, and that history is tainted by the fact that his ministry has promoted gay conversion therapy, which is illegal in California and is dangerous and harmful,” Rodriguez-Kennedy said. In December, Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, immediate past president of the LGBT organization San Diego Democrats for Equality, said the Legacy International Center should not overlook that part of Cerullo’s past. ![]() Members of the LGBTQ community also criticized him for anti-gay preaching. He also faced tax-evasion charges for under-representing his income from 1998 to 2000, but the 2007 California case against him was dismissed due to improperly administered jury instructions. His miracle-healing crusades were the subject of negative news coverage and public uproar in the United Kingdom, India and Brazil. “Our consolation is that you lived an impactful life, raising men across the globe for Jesus.”Ĭerullo also faced controversy during his long career. “You fought a good fight, finished your course and kept the faith,” Okonkwo tweeted. On Twitter, founding Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission in Nigeria wrote that Cerullo was a “good soldier of Christ.” “The intensity of the flames that burned in his heart for the lost was contagious, and I never walked away from spending time with him without my life changed forever.” “I’ve never met anyone who was more on fire for the cause of Christ,” Hinn wrote.
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