Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart in critical condition after cardiac arrest, family says
Swaggart, 90, went into cardiac arrest around 8 a.m. Sunday while at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, his son, Donnie Swaggart, said. Donnie Swaggart said that "without a miracle, his time will be short."
Donnie Swaggart said during a Sunday night service that, before EMTs arrived, he and his brother took turns giving their father chest compressions, but "he never regained consciousness."
"Emergency personnel responded swiftly and were able to revive his heartbeat before transporting him to the hospital. He remains in the ICU, where he is under close medical care," a spokesperson for Jimmy Swaggart Ministries said.
Jimmy Swaggart is one of the country's best-known televangelists. The founder of his eponymous ministry, he began preaching on the radio in the early 1960s. He is the founder of the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, where his family continues to preach, and his ministry also runs the SonLife Broadcasting Network, which broadcasts the Family Worship Center's services.
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart speaks at the funeral service for his cousin, rock and roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis, in Ferriday, La., Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.
Gerald Herbert / AP
Jimmy Swaggart made national headlines in 1988 when he was photographed outside a New Orleans-area hotel with a sex worker. He tearfully admitted to sinning before his congregation during a live television broadcast, although he did not specify that he had solicited a prostitute. The incident led to him being defrocked by the Assemblies of God, although he continued to preach.
Three years later, he was again found with a prostitute, this time in Indio, California, according to The Associated Press. He told his congregation that God said to him, "You tell them that Thursday morning you'll be making television programs," adding: "The Lord told me it's flat none of your business," The AP reported.
Jimmy Swaggart has also recorded gospel music and is the cousin of the late rock and roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis. Swaggart spoke at Lewis' funeral, and one of Lewis' final records was a gospel album he recorded with Jimmy Swaggart that was released just a few months before Lewis' death.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Union Station should be safe for all Americans, says Katie Pavlich
'Special Report' panelists Juan Williams, Katie Pavlich and Josh Kraushaar discuss the Trump administration's crime crackdown in the nation's capital.
CBS News
30 minutes ago
- CBS News
Downtown Sacramento business owners raise concerns over police responses to Saint Clare building
Some downtown Sacramento business owners are fed up with a building they say police keep getting called out to. The building in question is Saint Clare on 9th and L St. It was formerly the Capitol Park Hotel that was flipped into permanent supportive housing for the homeless. It opened in 2024, and some downtown business owners say it has become a nuisance. "When you see these folks suffering on the street, you wish you could allocate the dollars you have in a smarter way," said the CEO of Region Business and downtown developer John Vignocchi. He is calling on more services for the homeless to mitigate the number of calls to the Sacramento Police Department. "They spent so much money on renovating this historic property that they don't have a lot of capital left over for services," said Vignocchi. A downtown business owner requested public records from the Sacramento Police Department that shared the data with Vignocchi. The data reveals that about 10% of calls in the J, K and L corridor of downtown between 7th and 13th streets came from Saint Clare in the first half of 2025. The calls were about three to four times more than other businesses in the area, like the 7-Eleven on J Street. The most recent call to Saint Clare came on Wednesday morning when residents were woken up to swat when an armed suspect barricaded himself inside a unit. "When you got a high volume of calls for service, something's up," said Sacramento City Councilman for District 4 Phil Pluckebaum. "So that gives us an opportunity to respond. There's opportunity for improvement." Pluckebaum represents downtown but was not in office when the city spent $20.3 million to flip the hotel into housing for the homeless. He is suggesting solutions, such as more resources for dispute resolution, crisis and trauma counseling and services for people's pets. He said the reality is that those services will come with a cost, saying the city needs more money to accomplish serving the homeless better. "Maybe summertime being warm, folks having less clothes," said Jenny Davison, CEO of Davison Consulting and Design and COO of Capitol Events Center. "That's a situation that's been happening." Davison said she is tired of seeing people doing drugs, trespassing and having to pay for increased security. The Sacramento Police Department said it is aware of the high number of calls it keeps getting at Saint Clare and that the bike unit is working with the District Attorney's Office to address the issues. "An active investigation is currently underway, and we are cooperating fully with the authorities," said Mercy Housing, the group that runs Saint Clare. "At this time, we are unable to provide additional details. The safety and well-being of residents and staff is always our top priority."
CNN
30 minutes ago
- CNN
‘She fought for so many survivors': Virginia Giuffre's brother becomes emotional remembering his sister
CNN's Anderson Cooper speaks with Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre's brother and sister-in-law about Ghislaine Maxwell's prison transfer and their sister's fight for justice.
