Evangelist Billy Graham in hospital with pneumonia

World renowned evangelist Billy Graham was admitted to hospital yesterday near his home in North Carolina.

He was taken to Mission Hospital in Asheville after having difficulty breathing.

His spokesperson, Larry Ross, said the 92-year-old had had “episodes of sweating and coughing”.

“He had a slight fever and experienced difficulty breathing. But he was never in any distress or in an acute situation," said Ross.

Test results indicated that Graham has pneumonia but showed his heart is functioning normally.

Graham has been kept in for observation and is said to be resting well while being treated with antibiotics.

His primary physician, Dr Lucian Rice, said in a statement released by the hospital: “He is resting comfortably and is fully alert.”

Dr Shaw Henderson said in the hospital statement: “Appropriate antibiotics are being administered, and he is clinically stable at this time.”

Graham’s reputation as an international evangelist is legendary. He has ministered to or met every single US President since 1950, including President Barack Obama who visited him in his home last year.

His crusades, TV and radio broadcasts have taken the message of the Gospel to some 2.2 billion worldwide.

The crusades he led in London in 1954 are still remembered with affection today by those who were there. In 1984, he was invited by Queen Elizabeth to preach at her country home, Sandringham.

Age-related medical conditions keep him largely within the confines of his Montreat, North Carolina, mountain home, although his general health remains good.

Today, it is his is son, Franklin Graham, who travels the world preaching at crusades under the umbrella of the organisation founded by his father, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.