The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
US evangelist Billy Graham dies aged 99
President Trump leads tributes to the man they called ‘The Preaching Windmill’
The Rev Billy Graham, who transformed American religious life through his preaching and activism, has died at the age of 99.
Mr Graham, who had been suffering from cancer, pneumonia and a number of other illnesses, was a counsellor to American presidents and travelled the globe to become perhaps the most widely heard Christian evangelist in history – with a number of successful appearances in the UK.
Spokesman Mark DeMoss said Mr Graham died at his home in North Carolina on Wednesday morning.
US president Donald Trump tweeted: “The GREAT Billy Graham is dead. There was nobody like him! He will be missed by Christians and all religions. A very special man.”
He reached more than 200 million people through his appearances and millions more through his pioneering use of television and radio.
His leadership summits and crusades in more than 185 countries and territories forged powerful global links among conservative Christians, and threw a lifeline to believers in the communistcontrolled Eastern bloc.
Dubbed “America’s pastor”, he was a confidant to US presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to George W Bush.
Beyond Mr Graham’s public appearances, he reached millions through his pioneering use of prime-time telecasts, network radio, daily newspaper columns, evangelistic feature films and satellite TV broadcasts.
In his early days as a preacher, he stood out for his rapid delivery and swinging arms that won him the nickname “The Preaching Windmill”.
A 1949 Los Angeles revival turned Mr Graham into evangelism’s rising star.
Held in a tent dubbed the “Canvas Cathedral”, Mr Graham had attracted reasonable crowds until one night when reporters and photographers descended. When Mr Graham asked them why they had come, a reporter said that legendary publisher William Randolph Hearst had ordered his papers to hype the preacher.
The publicity gave him a national profile. Over the next decade, his massive crusades in the UK and New York catapulted him to international celebrity. His 12-week London campaign in 1954 drew more than two million people.
Three years later, he held a crusade in New York’s Madison Square Garden that was so popular it was extended from six to 16 weeks, capped off with a rally in Times Square that attracted more than 100,000 people.
By his final crusade in 2005 in New York City, he had preached in person to more than 210 million people worldwide.
No evangelist is expected to have his level of influence again.