Samuel Joaquín Flores

Samuel Joaquín was born on February 14, 1937, the youngest of eight siblings. He was minister of the church in Tepic, Nayarit until age 27.

On May 17, 1962, Flores, who was at the time in charge of the church in Port of Veracruz, married Eva García López, in Guadalajara. Together they had eight children: Benjamin, Israel, Azael, Rahel, Naasón Merarí, Betsabe, Uzziel and Atlaí.

He became the leader of La Luz del Mundo on June 9, 1964 after the death of his father and served as the church's second apostle until his death on December 8, 2014. He was succeeded by his son Naason.

Flores continued his father's desire for international expansion by traveling outside of Mexico extensively.[1]

He first visited church members in the Mexican state of Michoacán in August 1964 before going to Los Angeles on a missionary trip before the end of the year.

Under the leadership of Flores La Luz del Mundo became integrated into Guadalajara and the church replicated the model of Hermosa Provincia in other Mexican cities and abroad.

The original temple in Hermosa Provincia was demolished and replaced by a larger one in 1967.[2] Flores oversaw the construction of schools, hospitals, and other social services, projects, and labor[3] such as the Beautiful Province Educational Institutions where the Hospital Siloe in Guadalajara was established.[4]

During this time the church continued expanding representation in the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ethiopia and Israel between 1990 and 2010.[5] By 1970, La Luz Del Mundo included Costa Rica, Colombia, and Guatemala in its membership. By 1972, there were approximately 72,000 members of the church, which increased to 1.5 million by 1986 and to 4 million by 1993.

In Mexico alone, La Luz Del Mundo had 188,326 followers according to the INEGI Census in 2010.[6]

Anthropologist Patricia Fortuny says that the church's growth can be attributed to several factors including its social benefits, which "improves the living conditions of believers."[7]

By the end of Flores' ministry La Luz del Mundo was present in fifty countries.[8]

Samuel Joaquín Flores was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the early 2010s. After years of surgery and treatment, he died at the age of 77 on December 8, 2014 at his home in the Hermosa Provincia neighborhood in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

His funeral was attended by local and international church members, as well as the Governor of Jalisco, Aristóteles Sandoval, and the municipal president of Guadalajara, Ramiro Hernández.[9][10]