Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart Hospitalized in Critical Condition: ‘Without a Miracle, His Time Will Be Short’

Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart is in critical condition following a cardiac arrest episode, according to a statement from his ministry, per CBS News.  

Swaggart, 90, went into cardiac arrest while at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, his son, Donnie Swaggart, said. 

It’s not looking good for the famed televangelist, with Donnie explaining, “without a miracle, his time will be short.” Donnie 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.”

A spokesperson explained: “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.”

USA Today reports on his son’s update on Jimmy’s condition. “I wish I could tell you that (he’s) recovering and things are going better but there has been no change,” Donnie said in a video released online after visiting his father in the hospital. “The bottom line is that without a miracle … that’s the only thing we can hope for.”

Jimmy is one of the country’s best-known televangelists, with him creating his eponymous ministry. His preaching journey began via radio in the early 1960s. He founded the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, where his family continues to preach. His ministry also runs the SonLife Broadcasting Network, which broadcasts the Family Worship Center’s services.

Jimmy made headlines in 1988 when he was photographed outside a New Orleans-area hotel with a sex worker. He apologized in a live broadcast, but never made mention of hiring a prostitute. The incident led to him being defrocked by the Assemblies of God, although he continued to preach.

He repeated the same act of being caught with a prostitute three years later in Indio, California. 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.”

Jimmy has also recorded gospel music. His cousin is rock and roll legend, Jerry Lee Lewis, whom he spoke at his funeral services.