A 1976 honors graduate of
Michigan State University, Kresta has done graduate work in theology at
Sacred Heart Major Seminary in
Detroit and
Ashland Theological Seminary. In 1986, Kresta began pastoring Shalom Ministry in
Taylor, Michigan. 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 on WMUZ. When he began the program, Al was a Protestant pastor. The questions forced upon him as a pastor, however, led him to return to the
Catholic Church of his upbringing. His profound personal conversion to Christ and reversion to the Catholic Church is told in the best-selling anthology
Surprised By Truth. In 1997
Domino's Pizza founder
Tom Monaghan recruited him to launch the media apostolate, Ave Maria Communications. He was the host of
Kresta in the Afternoon, produced by Ave Maria Radio and syndicated on
EWTN Global Catholic Radio, heard on more than 350 stations around the United States, on
Sirius Satellite Radio, and on numerous webstreams. Over the years, Kresta engaged in vigorous discussions and debates with many nationally known figures from politics, the arts, the Church, academia, and business. Kresta has been a guest on
BBC Radio and major TV network news affiliates. His radio work has received mention by the
Associated Press,
The Washington Times,
National Catholic Reporter,
Our Sunday Visitor,
Envoy,
Christianity Today, and numerous metropolitan newspapers. Kresta's life and spiritual journey took on a new dimension in February 2003, when he lost his left leg to
necrotizing fasciitis, an infection often referred to as the "flesh-eating bacteria." His extended recovery and eventual return to broadcasting gave him new insights into the realities of suffering and hope.
Kresta in the Afternoon Kresta hosted a daily radio program on Ave Maria Radio called
Kresta in the Afternoon. The program was broadcast from Ave Maria Radio's flagship station in Ann Arbor, Michigan (
WDEO-AM) and syndicated across the country on the
EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network. The show originally broadcast three hours a day but was later cut to two hours. Both hours were carried by EWTN Radio until 2024 when the 4pm (eastern) hour was dropped to make way for a new program with Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers. The 4pm hour remained on Ave Maria Radio's stations in Michigan and other affiliates who received the program independently from
EWTN Radio such as
EPIC Radio 103.5FM in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Kresta would write and deliver commentaries on issues facing Americans and Catholics. He would also frequently interview news-makers and authors and occasionally hosted a call-in segment called "Direct to My Desk." During the length of the show, Kresta interviewed a wide variety of guests including the late
Cardinal George Pell, jailed Hong Kong democracy activist
Jimmy Lai, former US Senator
Rick Santorum, former US Representative
Dan Lipinski, papal biographer
George Wiegel, and many more.
Personal life and death Kresta and his wife, Sally, were married in 1977 and had five children. Al Kresta made his Perpetual Profession as a Lay Dominican, alongside his wife Sally, in 2017 and belonged to the Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati Fraternity in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kresta died of liver cancer on June 15, 2024, at the age of 72. ==Books==