ORU Founder Hospitalized After Fall

By By Joshua A. Goldberg
oral-roberts.jpg
 Oral Roberts Ministries / File

The founder of Oral Roberts University has been hospitalized after falling in his home over the weekend.

“On Saturday, December 12, while in his home in California, Oral Roberts slipped and fell,” reported the ministry of the 91-year-old televangelist in a statement released Monday.

“He was transported to a local hospital and is currently being treated for broken bones and a slight case of pneumonia. Doctors report he is in stable condition,” added the ministry, which is presently being led by Roberts’ son, Richard.

Roberts, who turns 92 next month, founded ORU in Tulsa, Okla., in 1963, and helped it to become the largest Charismatic Christian university in the world.

Though Roberts handed over the presidency to his son in 1993, he returned to help the university in 2007 after the younger Roberts resigned amid allegations of financial misspending.

In January 2009, ORU selected its third and current president, Dr. Mark Rutland, who officially took office on July 1, 2009.

Currently Roberts is "semi-retired," living in Newport Beach, Calif., and earning $83,505 per year, according to Charity Navigator.

In Monday’s statement, the Roberts family expressed their appreciation of the ministry's supporters and requested for prayers.

“They ask for your prayers as we agree together in faith for a miraculous and speedy recovery,” the ministry reported.

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