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Al Kresta

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Al Kresta
Al Kresta is a broadcaster, journalist and author who is, first of all, a missionary. He draws upon his unique faith background to create what is, arguably, the most fascinating — and most spiritually constructive — talk show on radio today.

A 1976 honors graduate of Michigan State University, Al has also done graduate work in theology at both Catholic and Protestant seminaries. He became well known in the Detroit area for his program, “Talk from the Heart,” one of the top-rated Christian talk shows during the 1980s and 90s. When he began the program, Al was a Protestant pastor. The questions forced upon him as pastor, however, led him to return to the Catholic Church. His profound personal conversion to Christ and return to the Catholic Church is told in the best-selling anthology Surprised By Truth.

In 1997, Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan recruited Al to launch the media apostolate, Ave Maria Communications.

Heard on over 120 stations and Sirius Satellite, Kresta in the Afternoon looks at all areas of life through the lens of Scripture and the teaching of the Catholic Church and takes on all comers. Over the years, Al has engaged in vigorous discussions or debates with nationally known figures from politics, the arts, the Church, academia and business such as Jack Kevorkian, Mother Angelica, Jesse Jackson, Carl Bernstein, John McCain, Gloria Steinem, Pat Buchanan, Scott Hahn, Donna Shalala, Judge Robert Bork, Richard Gephardt, Jerry Falwell, George McGovern, Steve Allen, Bowie Kuhn, Mrs. Anwar Sadat, Martin Luther King III, Cal Thomas, Avery Cardinal Dulles, Chuck Colson, Alan Dershowitz, Ken Starr, James Earl Ray, Mary Higgins Clark, and C. Everett Koop.

Kresta's life and spiritual journey took on a new dimension in February 2003, when he lost his left leg to necrotizing fasciitis, a virulent infection often referred to as the "flesh-eating bacteria." His extended recovery and eventual return to broadcasting have given him new insights into the realities of suffering and hope.

He is the author of Why Are Catholics So Concerned About Sin? More Answers to Puzzling Questions About the Catholic Church, a follow-up to the best-seller Why Do Catholics Genuflect? And Answers to Other Puzzling Questions About the Catholic Faith published by Servant Books, as well as a contributor to Shaken by Scandals: Catholics Speak Out About Priests' Sexual Abuse also published by Servant Publications, and Loving Your Neighbor published by the Capital Research Foundation.

Al and his wife, Sally, have been married for 30 years and have been blessed with 5 children on earth and two in heaven.

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