Church Leader Has Alzheimer’s Disease

Elizabeth Clare Prophet, former leader of the controversial apocalyptic Church Universal and Triumphant, has Alzheimer’s disease.

Prophet, 59, who last year stepped down as church president after it was disclosed she had a neurological disease--said at the time to be undiagnosed--told followers that her illness “now has a name.”

Prophet’s former husband, Mark Prophet, founded the church in Los Angeles in 1958, combining elements of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and New Age thought. In the late 1980s, she warned of a nuclear Armageddon and moved her church to Corwin Springs, Mont., north of Yellowstone National Park.

After the disaster did not happen, the church began losing thousands of members--including Prophet’s four adult children--and much of its income.

In recent years, the church has sought to recast itself as more mainstream, but has been forced to sell more than two-thirds of its 12,000-acre ranch.

In a letter to followers released Nov. 25, Prophet, who remains her church’s spiritual leader, said, “I have not wavered in my determination to continue in my mission to the utmost of my ability.”