Jimmy Swaggart, a renowned televangelist from the United States, has passed away at the age of 90 after a brief illness, his family announced on his verified Instagram account on Tuesday.
In their statement, the family described him as a devoted preacher who dedicated his life to spreading the gospel and leading countless individuals to Christ.
“Today, our hearts are heavy as we share that Brother Swaggart has completed his earthly race and entered the presence of His Saviour, Jesus Christ. Today was the day he had sung about for decades.
“He met his beloved Saviour and entered the portals of glory. While we mourn his passing, we rejoice in the hope of seeing him again one day,” the family wrote.
Reflecting on his ministry, they added, “For over seventy years, Brother Swaggart poured out his life preaching the gospel, singing songs of faith, and pointing millions to the saving power of Jesus Christ and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
“His voice resonated across nations, his music touched hearts, and his message remained steadfast: Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
Born in 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana, Swaggart rose from humble beginnings in a musical family. Known for his charismatic Pentecostal preaching, he built a massive following before his career was marred by scandal. In 1988, he was caught on camera with a prostitute in New Orleans—a scandal that contributed to the downfall of several prominent televangelists during that era.
Despite the controversy, Swaggart continued to preach for many years, albeit with a smaller audience. In a tearful 1988 sermon, he admitted his sins, saying, “I have sinned against you. I beg you to forgive me,” but made no direct reference to the incident with the prostitute.
Later that year, he resigned from the Assemblies of God after being defrocked for “moral failure,” though he insisted that his departure was necessary to preserve his ministry.
Swaggart’s journey began in poverty, growing up as the son of a preacher in Louisiana. Excelling in gospel music, he played piano alongside cousins who would become rock star Jerry Lee Lewis and country singer Mickey Gilley.
He first felt the call of God at age eight, describing a profound spiritual experience that made his hair stand on end. He initially worked in oil fields while preaching part-time, eventually dedicating himself to ministry. His energetic preaching, singing, and piano playing became central to revivals and camp meetings.
Swaggart launched a radio show, a magazine, and then transitioned into television, where he gained notoriety for his outspoken views. He openly criticised Roman Catholicism and made controversial statements about Jewish suffering, asserting that it was related to their rejection of Christ.
His sermons, delivered at his Family Worship Centre in Baton Rouge, drew large crowds and a worldwide TV audience, making him a household name by the late 1980s. His ministry, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, became a lucrative enterprise, generating an estimated $142 million in 1986.
Swaggart’s career was severely impacted by scandals in the late 1980s. He publicly linked his financial struggles to the sex scandals involving other televangelists like Jim Bakker.
In 1988, he was photographed with Debra Murphree, an admitted prostitute, at a hotel in New Orleans. Murphree claimed they did not have sex but that Swaggart paid her to pose nude, and she later appeared in Penthouse magazine.
The photographs were taken during a rivalry with preacher Marvin Gorman, who had accused Swaggart of sexual misconduct and hired the photographer. Swaggart paid Gorman $1.8 million to settle a lawsuit related to these allegations.
In 1991, he was detained by police in California with Rosemary Garcia, another prostitute, and was charged with reckless driving and possessing pornographic magazines. He was also mocked by comedian Phil Hartman on “Saturday Night Live.”
Though out of the limelight for a time, Swaggart continued his ministry with his son Donnie often by his side. His radio station broadcast services across 21 states and reached a global online audience. In 2004, he made headlines with comments about being “looked at” sexually by a gay man, which he later apologised for.
He appeared publicly to sing “Amazing Grace” at the funeral of Louisiana Secretary of State Fox McKeithen in 2005 and shared memories at a 2022 memorial service for his cousin Lewis, a pioneer in rock ‘n’ roll. Earlier that year, they released a gospel album titled “The Boys From Ferriday.”
