An evangelist who claimed to cure serious illnesses — including terminal cancers — through prayer had been secretly facing his own health battle years before his death.
John Mellor, who included Down syndrome, mental illness and blindness among the ailments he “cured,” died in March at the age of 67.
His wife Julie told followers at the time that Mellor, the top evangelist in John Mellor Ministries, had died of a “sudden illness.”
However, a source close to the Mellor family told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Mellor, 67, was diagnosed with bowel cancer sometime in late 2019 or early 2020.
The source revealed that Mellor claimed for some time to heal the sick while receiving chemotherapy.
“Around January 2020, John definitely had colon cancer… and at the end of December 2021, he definitely underwent chemotherapy,” the source said.
The source claimed that Mellor’s cancer diagnosis was hidden from the public so that his followers would steadfastly believe in his ability to heal through prayer.
John Mellor (left), an internationally renowned healing evangelist who claimed to heal ailments through prayer, battled colon cancer for years before his death
According to his wife Julie (right), John died of a ‘sudden illness’ on March 17. Mr. Mellor had claimed he could cure serious ailments such as cancer, Parkinson’s and Down syndrome.
Despite regularly posting testimonials and prayers on his social media accounts, Mellor has never revealed to his followers that he was battling cancer.
There were, however, some references to bowel cancer.
Mellor posted a video to social media in April 2022 of him miraculously causing the colon cancer cells of those watching to die.
According to the source, Mellor was “definitely” undergoing chemotherapy at the time the video was posted.
The caption of the Mellor Ministries video noted that requests for Mellor to pray for a cure for colon cancer had become “a very common request lately.”
In the video, Mellor instructs viewers to place their hand on the part of their body where tumors are growing and virtually reach out to him.
“It’s like sitting in your living room, in your car, wherever you are, I’m going to believe that the power of God is flowing through your body,” he told viewers.
Touching his own abdomen, Mellor says, “In the name of Jesus, I break colon cancer now, I command every tumor to shrink and disappear, I command every cancer cell to die.”
“And whether the colon cancer has spread to the liver or lungs or anywhere else, I command those cancerous tumors to vanish and shrink, go in Jesus’ name.”
He then prayed that the pain and hair loss of chemotherapy would also “go in Jesus’ name.”
Other videos on Mellor’s social media accounts show him supposedly curing a baby of Down syndrome symptoms and paraplegic followers are able to walk again.
“Maybe John had some [healing] skills,” said the source.
‘But why can’t you say publicly that you have colon cancer yourself and be very open and transparent about what you’ve been through?’
A source close to the Mellors told Daily Mail Australia that Covid-19 lockdowns were being used to hide his diagnosis so his followers would still believe he was a healer and not affect earnings
Mr. Mellor is seen here offering spiritual healing to an elderly member of his congregation
Outside of Australia, John was also hired as a guest preacher in crowded churches around the world for his supposed healing abilities.
Announcing her husband’s death, Julie Mellor said the evangelist had been “called to heaven way too soon” and that he would “have the time of his life with Jesus.”
“I am devastated and still in shock and disbelief as I know many of you will be too,” she wrote on Facebook.
“It was an honor and a joy to be his wife and serve God with him. He was my best friend and best companion. My heart is broken.
“John was the sweetest, kindest, most sincere and funny man and husband who ever lived.
“While John was a public figure, he and I are very private people. For the sake of John’s dignity and privacy, I choose not to share details of John’s passing, so please don’t ask.”
Mrs. Mellor then reflected on her husband’s life as a pastor and said, “He will also meet the thousands who are in heaven thanks to his 47 years of tireless evangelism and ministry since his salvation at age 20.”
The source claimed the ministry was able to keep Mellor’s cancer diagnosis a secret as the Covid-19 lockdowns in place at the time had already prevented him from giving sermons.
‘She [the ministry] were afraid it would be leaked and it would affect their income,” said the source.
Outside of Australia, John was also hired as a guest preacher in crowded churches around the world for his supposed healing abilities
Julie has taken over as head of John Mellor Ministries and claims to be healing followers of post-traumatic stress disorder and Parkinson’s symptoms at a recent event in Port Macquarie
Mellor became interested in healing when he worked as a missionary in a remote indigenous community and came into contact with a “witch doctor.”
According to his ministry website, John “prayed and fasted 10 days a month for five months and cried out to God to reveal himself in power to these people.”
His apparent healing of the community earned Mellor the nickname “the missionary who heals.”
Mellor started to attract attention after a “flood of miracles” happened while he was in Wishaw, a small town outside Glasgow, Scotland.
Mellor has since preached internationally, causing an A Current Affair reporter, Nick Poe, to feel “a warm tingling sensation” down his spine after praying for healing from a neck injury the reporter had suffered from for 16 years.
Julie has since taken over the leadership of the church after John’s passing.
“After 15 years of serving by John’s side as his wife, I will continue the ministry,” Julie wrote.
At a recent event at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in Port Macquarie, Julie claimed to have healed a woman from arthritis, pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.
At the event, which closely resembled John’s sermons, Julie also claimed to have cured a man of symptoms related to Parkinson’s disease.
Julie will follow in John’s footsteps as an internationally sought-after guest preacher, delivering healing talks in England and Switzerland in September and in the United States in October.
Daily Mail Australia contacted John Mellor Ministries and Julie Mellor for comment.