Reverend Jimmy Swaggart, the Louisiana-based televangelist and founder of the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, was hospitalized this Sunday following a cardiac arrest episode.
It has been reported that during an evening prayer service at the center, Donnie Swaggart, son of the Reverend, informed the parishioners of the incident. The Reverend, now 90 years old, was found unconscious at his home around 8 a.m. He was rushed to the hospital, where medical personnel were successful in restarting his heart.
Donnie Swaggart and his son, Gabriel, were present during the emergency. “Dad had gone into cardiac arrest. He never regained consciousness. We both took turns giving him chest compressions until the EMT could get there. They were able to get a heartbeat back,” Donnie Swaggart stated.
Reports indicate that Reverend Swaggart is currently in intensive care. His son added that without divine intervention, his father’s time may be short.
Swaggart began his career as a televangelist in 1975, establishing Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and the Jimmy Swaggart Bible College in Baton Rouge. He published numerous Christian books, and his program aired on more than 250 TV stations globally in the 1980s.
However, his popularity faced a decline in the late 1980s following a scandal involving adultery and prostitutes, which led to his loss of clerical authority in the Pentecostal cooperative organization, the Assemblies of God, and his church’s departure from the denomination.
Reverend Swaggart’s health crisis comes at a time when he, like many of his generation, is faced with serious health concerns.