Televangelist Rev. Jimmy Swaggart died at the age of 90, two weeks after he suffered a heart attack.
The scandal-ridden reverend never regained consciousness after the medical episode in his home in Baton Rouge on June 15, according to the Shrevport Times.
“Today, our hearts are heavy as we share that Brother Swaggart has finished his earthly race and entered into the presence of His Savior, Jesus Christ,” his family announced in a statement on Tuesday.
“Today was the day he has sung about for decades. He met his beloved Savior and entered the portals of glory. At the same time, we rejoice knowing that we will see him again one day,” they added.
The charismatic Pentecostal preacher gained a massive following with his televised sermons in the 1980s before he was notoriously caught on camera with a prostitute in 1988.
Before the scandal, his contriburors propelled Jimmy Swaggart Ministries into a business that raked in an estimated $142 million in 1986.
Rival televangelist Marvin Gorman had hired a photographer to to snap photos of Swaggart and published the damning photos after Swaggart had accused him of sexual misdeeds.
Prostitute Debra Murphee claimed the pair never had sex and the preacher had just taken naked photos.
He gave a tearful on-air apology for his actions, famously stating, “I have sinned against you” and asked for forgiveness before he was defrocked later that year by the Assemblies of God.
He weathered the controversy, and his TV audience ballooned again to some 800,000 viewers over the next few years.
However, in 1991, he was pulled over in a traffic stop and found to be in the company of another prostitute, leading to several of his contracts being canceled.
Despite this, Swaggart kept preaching independently, opening the SonLife Broadcasting Network in 2010, an international Christian TV network that airs both live and prerecorded programs.
He was also known for sharing his outspoken views. He called Roman Catholicism “a false religion” and claimed that Jews suffered for thousands of years “because of their rejection of Christ.”
Swaggart, a talented musician, received a Grammy-nomination for his 1981 gospel album “Worship.” He was cousins with rock n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis and country singer Mickey Gilley, who both died in 2022.
“He was not just a preacher — he was a worshiper, a warrior, and a witness to the grace and mercy of God,” Swaggart’s loved ones said. “He was a man whose faith was steadfast and always entered whatever door the Lord opened. And the Lord honored that faith.”
He is survived by wife Frances and children including Donnie Swaggart, who now preaches from the same pulpit at Jimmy Swaggart Ministries as his father did.
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