It is with heavy hearts that we announce that Dr. Roberto S. Miranda, Senior Pastor of Congregación León de Judá (also known as Lion of Judah), passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, May 21. Under Pastor Roberto’s faithful leadership of forty years, Lion of Judah shared the hope and joy of the gospel with underserved populations in Boston and ministered to a bilingual and multinational congregation of 1,000.

Pastor Roberto was also a longtime Gordon-Conwell partner who mentored many of our students and developed close relationships with many of our staff and faculty. While we deeply grieve his loss, we celebrate his Kingdom impact and give glory to God for his life. We pray that God would comfort and console all who grieve, including two of our alumni who serve at Lion of Judah: Rev. Jonatán Toledo (MDiv ’11), Associate Pastor of Young Adult Ministries, and Isaias Rivera (MDiv ’02, ThM ’04), Associate Teaching Pastor.

Read the church’s announcement below for information regarding arrangements and prayer requests.

Dr. Roberto S. Miranda, the beloved Senior Pastor of the Congregation Lion of Judah for nearly 40 years, passed away suddenly on Saturday evening, May 21. He was accompanied by his wife of 38 years, Mercedes (“Meche”) Lopez-Miranda, when Pastor Roberto went on to be with the Lord. The funeral service, celebrating the life of Pastor Roberto, will take place Friday, May 27, in the main sanctuary of Lion of Judah at 20 Reed Street, Boston, MA.  The sanctuary will be open for public visitation from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., followed by a “home-going service” at 7:00 p.m. Pastor Roberto’s burial, Saturday, May 28, will be limited to immediate family.

We covet your prayers for Pastora Meche; for their daughters, Sonia and Abigail; for their grandchildren, Caleb, Eliza, and Daniella; and for Pastor Roberto’s sisters and brothers. We also ask that you pray for the Congregación León de Judá, this beautiful church family into which Pastor Roberto poured his life, and must now set out on the future God has for us without him.

More information regarding Pastor Roberto’s legacy is available on Religion News Service.