BREAKING: Father Mike Manning has died

Details, from an email sent around this morning from his order:

With profound sadness I would like to inform that Mike Manning passed away this morning at 7.05. His long struggle and suffering has ended. He is in a better and painless place.

Last evening I prayed with him and anointed him along with his cousins. He had a smile on his face ready to go home.

Thank you for your prayers. Let us place him in the loving hands of the Lord.

As I noted a few weeks back:

Father Michael Manning is a Roman Catholic priest whose ministry is television. His program, The Word in the World, is seen weekly on The Church Channel. His programs also broadcast on Catholic television stations in Rockville Center, Yonkers, Youngstown and Fresno. Manning is also aired on the worldwide Military Network. In 1972 Manning began his ministry by hosting and producing the program “Run for Daylight” on a cable system in San Bernardino, California. In 1978 he started a nationally syndicated weekly program.

Manning’s goal is to present Catholic perspectives on life’s issues. He has a driving desire to build bridges among people of different Christian denominations and religions. He champions the causes of the poor and disenfranchised. His teachings bring insights into the Bible and the Catholic faith.

Manning has appeared as a guest on Larry King Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Nancy Grace, The History Channel, Doctor Laura, The Leeza Show, The Montel Williams Show, The Phil Donahue Show, Hard Copy, Helpline at NBC and CBS Real People, The 700 Club, and Today’s Religion. For nine years he was a regular guest on the radio program Religion on the Line on KABC in Los Angeles with Dennis Prager.

And then there was this:

In April, 2011 Fr. Manning announced a one-month leave from his television show as a result of the revelation that he was involved in an inappropriate relation with his second cousin, Nancy Kotowski, the Monterey County, California superintendent of schools.

As of May 13, 2011, with the full support of his Provincial Superior of the Western Province of Society of the Divine Word and the Bishop of San Bernardino, Fr. Manning has moved back into full active ministry. The weekly show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), as well as the daily smart phone app, iGodToday, sponsored by the Vatican Observatory, continue.

The video above gives a small taste of the gentle, sweetly optimistic and engaging style that endeared him to so many over the years. Please remember him and those who love him in your prayers.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him…