Evangelist Billy Graham was resting comfortably Wednesday night in an Asheville hospital after being admitted with a possible case of pneumonia.

A statement from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said Graham was admitted Wednesday morning to Mission Hospital for respiratory problems. It's Graham's fifth hospital stay since 2007. In May, he spent five days at Mission, also for pneumonia.

Pulmonologist Mark Hellreich was treating the 93-year-old Graham.

Larry Ross, Graham's longtime spokesman, said the evangelist recently developed a cough, congestion and a slight fever. Doctors decided to keep Graham overnight for observation as a precaution.

According to the statement, Graham was alert when he was admitted, smiling and waving at hospital employees.

Meanwhile in Charlotte, several well-wishers gathered at the Billy Graham Library to pray for his recovery.

Wednesday night, Graham ate dinner and was visited by his daughter Gigi, who Ross said conveyed messages of good will from around the country. When the father and daughter began watching TV, Ross said, they happened across footage from Graham's 1973 crusade in St. Louis.

Graham's illness follows an eventful autumn for the Charlotte native.

In October, he released his 30th book, "Nearing Home," on growing old and finishing life well. His son, evangelist Franklin Graham, described his father at the time as active, engaged, but limited by his age and his failing hearing and sight.

In November, Graham's evangelistic association put more than 60 years of his sermons online. And a poll released last week named him the country's best-known religious leader.

In 2007, the evangelist spent almost two weeks at Mission Hospital for intestinal bleeding. He was hospitalized twice in 2008, once so doctors could relieve pressure around his brain that can cause Parkinson's symptoms, and again after he tripped over his dog.

While it is not clear when Graham will be released, the statement said he is looking forward to spending Christmas with his family at his Montreat home.

Franklin Graham says his father spends his days, with his assistants, working on writing projects and answering mail. He follows the news, visits with friends and takes several naps. His wife Ruth died in 2007.

Leighton Ford of Charlotte, who is married to Graham's sister Jean, said he learned of his brother-in-law's hospitalization Wednesday afternoon.

The Fords were scheduled to visit with Graham in the mountains the Monday before Thanksgiving. The trip was canceled, Ford said, because Graham was battling a cold and went to see his doctor.

"We're supposed to go up next week," Ford said, "but I guess we'll wait and see."