Jimmy Swaggart, the fiery televangelist whose preaching captivated millions even as his ministry was rocked by scandal, has died at the age of 90.

Swaggart passed away peacefully on June 1, 2025, weeks after collapsing at his home in Baton Rouge and never regaining consciousness. He had suffered cardiac arrest.

According to New York Times, Swaggart's death draws the curtain on a tumultuous chapter in American evangelicalism, one defined by his meteoric rise to religious stardom, a pair of high-profile prostitution scandals, and an enduring ministry that refused to fade.

Born in 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana, Swaggart was preaching in rural churches by the 1950s. With his soulful gospel piano, tearful altar calls, and emotionally charged sermons, he rose to become one of the most recognisable faces in global televangelism.

By the 1980s, his "Jimmy Swaggart Telecast" was airing in more than 100 countries, drawing in millions of viewers and generating over KSh18 billion ($140 million) annually.

But in 1988, at the height of his influence, Swaggart's ministry was shaken to its core. He was caught with Debra Murphree, a prostitute in New Orleans.

What followed was one of the most dramatic confessions in Christian broadcasting history: "I have sinned against You, my Lord," he wept on national television.

The Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal denomination under which he was ordained, defrocked him soon after, citing moral failure. Yet Swaggart was undeterred.

Despite promising to step down, he returned to the pulpit, only to be caught again in 1991 with another prostitute, Rosemary Garcia, this time in California.

Confronted by police, Swaggart famously replied, "The Lord told me it's flat none of your business."

Even so, he continued preaching at his Family Worship Centre in Baton Rouge, drawing a devoted following. In 2010, he launched SonLife Broadcasting Network, keeping his message alive in homes across the United States and beyond.

Swaggart was not just a preacher. He was a gospel musician with more than 50 albums to his name and over 17 million records sold.

His influence extended across religious and musical spheres, making him a complex figure, adored by followers for his passionate preaching and criticised by others for what they saw as moral hypocrisy.

His family, gathered by his bedside in his final days, said in a statement he had "finished his earthly race" and had "entered the presence of his Savior."