Al Kresta, a longtime Catholic radio host, author, and founder and president of Ave Maria Radio, passed away at the age of 72 on Saturday at his home in Michigan after a battle with liver cancer.
Advertisement
Kresta, who began his career as an evangelical Protestant radio host, converted to Catholicism in 1992. His voice became a familiar presence on hundreds of radio stations daily, including EWTN Catholic Radio, through Ave Maria’s flagship program, “Kresta in the Afternoon.”
Advertisement
According to a webpage set up by Kresta’s family to provide updates, he was admitted to the University of Michigan Hospital on April 29 following a month of tests, which led to a liver cancer diagnosis on May 3.
Born in 1951 in New England and raised Catholic, Kresta’s journey back to his faith was not straightforward. Despite his Catholic upbringing, he described himself as a “stereotypical 1960s kid” who indulged in the era’s popular vices of “drugs, sex, and rock ’n’ roll.” During an interview on EWTN’s “The Journey Home” in 2004, he admitted that the Catholic Church “didn’t hold much appeal to me” during his younger years.
Leave a Reply