Christian singer Carman Licciardello continues to battle for his health. The singer, who fought a recurrence of cancer last year, is recovering from a surgery last week that caused internal bleeding. The singer underwent a second surgery to correct the problem, but a Facebook post indicates he is also battling pneumonia and that his kidney and liver are “not working fully.”
An update posted to Carman’s Facebook page on Monday asked followers to pray for healing:
URGENT!!!! We need you to stop right now and pray! Carman had a minor surgery last week. Recovery was not going well and his temperature continued to rise. They discovered it was caused by internal bleeding and had to do another surgery last night to fix that. His temperature has gone down but now he has pneumonia and his kidneys and liver are not working fully. He needs a touch from the Lord right now!! Please pray for a complete healing for Carman.
Another Facebook post on January 19th, Carman’s birthday, explained that the complications arose in conjunction with surgery addressing a hiatal hernia. Carman said the minor surgery “turned into a near fatal scenario.” Carman described what happened when he woke up after the procedure:
For some reason, no one knows why, my blood pressure dropped to 66/43 and kept falling. It’s usually 135/89. I woke up from the anesthesia and saw 9 doctors and nurses standing around my bed buzzing about, deeply concerned. They worked for hours to get it going the other way. Now it’s almost 9:00. I’m waiting for blood transfusions and I’m on an intravenous drip. My father died at my age and my grandparents. So that’s been playing on my mind.
Carman thanked followers for their prayers, writing “I say it often from the stage, I don’t have fans I have intercessors and I have no doubt you keep me alive.”
As ChurchLeaders wrote in a previous article, Carman is a powerhouse in Christian music. Born Carman Licciardello in 1956 in Trenton, New Jersey, Carman is one of the most successful Christian artists of all time. He has sold over 10 million albums, won multiple awards, and is known for songs like “The Champion,” “Lazarus Come Forth,” and “His Name Is Wonderful.”
Something that set Carman apart in his heyday was that he put on concerts for free, only taking love offerings to help cover costs. A concert in 1994 gave him the record for the largest attended Christian concert ever when 71,132 people attended his show at the Texas Stadium in Dallas. One reviewer described how Carman used his music in a unique way to share the gospel with people: “He doesn’t make music for the sake of music, or artistry. He makes music as an evangelism tool. Indeed, Carman is more like a singing evangelist than a singer. Attending one of his concerts is like going to a revival with a musical soundtrack.” In addition to his musical career, Carman has authored several books and was a host on Trinity Broadcasting Network.
In 2020, Carman traveled to several churches throughout the United States to perform free concerts that doubled as evangelism events.
Please join us in praying for Carman’s recovery.
