ANN ARBOR, Mich. — As a former Protestant pastor-turned-Catholic evange-list and national talk-radio show host, Al Kresta has faced some pretty tough battles. But none compare to the one he's currently facing — his desperate fight for life.

The host of the three-hour “Kresta in the Afternoon” program, produced by Ave Maria Radio in Ann Arbor, Mich., and heard live throughout the country, was diagnosed as having “flesh-eating” bacteria — necrotizing fasciitis, a rare bacterial infection that can destroy skin, fat and tissue that covers muscles. The condition can lead to organ failure and, sometimes, death.

Kresta was in stable condition at press time.

He went to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti late on Feb. 17, complaining of severe leg and back pain along with swelling in his limbs. The next day, doctors had to amputate Kresta's leg.

“The medications that Al is on seem to be working, but his condition remains critical,” said Bill Koshelnyk, director of public relations for the Ave Maria Foundation.

Kresta's wife, Sally, developed similar symptoms and was diagnosed with a different strain of the same bacteria. At press time, doctors were optimistic about her recovery.

Friend and fellow Catholic apologist Steve Ray visited Kresta in the hospital twice. Shortly after Kresta was admitted, Ray said, “he squeezed my hand and tried to talk. I told him, ‘Keep fighting, Al. Don't give up.’”

On a Feb. 23 visit, Ray said, “Al's appearance was much better and Sally was in very good spirits.”

According to Ray, Kresta's physicians are uncertain how Kresta contracted the infection. It apparently can enter the body through any type of cut or abrasion. Ray did not think Kresta had an injury on his leg prior to the infection. The infection can travel through the bloodstream and manifest itself at points other than where it enters the body. The infection has the ability to travel about an inch per hour.

The Catholic response to Kresta's condition has been swift. Catholic leaders such as Crisis magazine publisher Deal Hudson, Catholic psychotherapist Gregory Popcak and many others quickly spread the news online, forming spiritual “bouquets” and asking others to pray for Kresta and his family.

“We are witnessing the mystical body of Christ in action,” said Mike Jones, vice president and general manager for Ave Maria Communications. “We have received thousands of e-mails, letters and telephone calls from many Catholic apostolates and numerous religious orders assuring us of their prayers. Spiritual bouquets, rosaries and Masses are being offered. It has truly been overwhelming.”

During the crisis the family has drawn great strength from their faith. Their parish priest, Father Ed Fride of Christ the King Catholic Church in Ann Arbor, gave Kresta the sacrament of anointing of the sick prior to his operation.

“He's been there every day since,” Ray said of Father Fride.

“Al is one of the most brilliant thinkers I know,” Ray said. “He has a loving pastor's heart. If you called him at 2 a.m. he would get up and talk to you. He cares about other people and the Church. That's why there has been such an outpouring of love and concern for him.”

Kresta is the author of Why Do Catholics Genuflect?, published last year by Servant Books of Ann Arbor. Kresta's conversion story was told in the book Surprised by Truth and in his year 2000 Register Inperson interview.

An achiever in school, Kresta became directionless after high school.

“I was a musician and I wanted to pursue my music and a hedonistic, self-centered lifestyle,” he told the Register. “In 1969 I left home and became homeless by choice. I lived on the street, slept in vacant apartments, stayed on the beach in the Florida Keys and bummed off of friends. After some hallucinogenic LSD experiences, I hitchhiked along the eastern seaboard looking for someone who could help me make sense of my hallucinations. I ended up in a New Age group.”

In 1974, he became an evangelical Protestant and helped start a crisis pregnancy center in Detroit, a Christian library and study center, and a Christian theater group.

Ray has known Kresta since 1983. The two met when both were still evangelical Protestants. Ray watched Kresta perform in a Christian play and approached him afterward. A close friendship followed that meeting.

Twice a month, the Rays and the Krestas would gather their families together on Sundays. With children of similar ages, the two families got along very well together. That is, until 1992, when Kresta announced that his family was going to enter the Catholic Church.

“The Church's unity was supposed to be one of the marks of the Church,” Kresta told the Register in his Inperson interview three years ago. “As I looked at the various evangelical Protestant groups, I began to see that they were divided over silly reasons. I asked myself, ‘How does this bear witness that the Father sent the Son?’”

At first Kresta's decision caused tension in his friendship with Ray.

“We decided not to talk about it,” Ray recalled. “We thought we would give them a year. We figured that later they would come to regret their decision. When the year was up, we asked Kresta about his decision. I said to him, ‘Well, your decision was a big mistake, right?’ to which Kresta responded, ‘It's the best thing that our family has ever done.’”

That provoked Ray to take the Catholic faith seriously. The Ray family came into the Church in May 1994.

Between 1997 and 1999, both the Kresta and Ray families reached out to Protestants in “bridge groups” they created. Nearly 200 people either returned to or came into the Catholic Church through the groups.

Tim Drake writes from St. Cloud, Minnesota.