BATON ROUGE, La. (BN24) — Jimmy Swaggart, the Louisiana preacher who rose from small-town Pentecostal services to become one of America’s most prominent televangelists before a sex scandal shattered his reputation, has died at age 90, his family announced Tuesday.
Swaggart passed away after spending two weeks hospitalized at Baton Rouge General Medical Center following a cardiac arrest on June 15, according to a statement posted on his official Facebook page.
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
Swaggart’s family expressed gratitude to hospital staff for “their incredible support and care” in his final days.
Over a career that transformed American religious broadcasting, Swaggart built a ministry that reached millions of viewers worldwide. He first drew national attention in 1975 when his ministry began recording and replaying his revival meetings, propelling him to television screens across the country. By the mid-1980s, Swaggart’s Sunday program aired on hundreds of stations, making him one of the most recognizable voices in evangelical Christianity.
At his peak, Swaggart’s sermons and gospel music performances generated tens of millions in donations, and his sprawling Baton Rouge campus became a hub for Pentecostal broadcasting and Bible education.
But his public ministry was overshadowed by scandal in 1988, when allegations surfaced that Swaggart had solicited a local prostitute. In a now-iconic moment of American televangelism, Swaggart took to the pulpit to deliver a tearful confession, telling his congregation and television audience, “I have sinned against you.” He declined to specify the nature of his transgression but implored viewers to forgive him.
Despite his attempt to salvage his ministry, Swaggart’s influence in the evangelical community never fully recovered, and the scandal marked the end of an era when televangelists wielded sweeping cultural power in American life.
Swaggart is survived by his wife, Frances, and his son, Donnie, who followed him into ministry.
