He was “America’s pastor.”

The Rev. Billy Graham — who counseled a dozen presidents and preached his message of salvation to millions around the globe — died Wednesday at his home in North Carolina at the age of 99.

“My father @BillyGraham was once asked, ‘Where is Heaven?’ He said, ‘Heaven is where Jesus is and I am going to Him soon!’” Franklin Graham recalled on Twitter.

“This morning, he departed this world into eternal life in Heaven, prepared by the Lord Jesus Christ — the Savior of the world — whom he proclaimed for 80 years.”

Graham’s health had declined in recent years, as he suffered from prostate cancer, pneumonia and Parkinson’s disease.

During his more than 70 years in the pulpit, the lanky spiritual leader became one of the most famous ministers in modern history, shaping the evangelical faith through his crusades that reached an estimated 215 million people in 185 countries.

With his folksy Southern drawl, he prayed with 12 presidents — from Harry Truman to Barack Obama — and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.

“Billy’s unshakable belief in the power of God’s word to transform hearts gave hope to all who listened to his simple message: ‘God loves you,’ ” President Trump said in a statement. “He carried this message around the world through his crusades, bringing entire generations to faith in Jesus Christ.”

In 1957, Graham — whose catchphrase was “The Bible says” — ministered at Madison Square Garden for an unprecedented 16 weeks, drawing nearly 2.4 million people to his meetings.

“William Franklin Graham Jr. can safely be regarded as the best who ever lived at what he did,” said William Martin, who penned the Graham biography “A Prophet With Honor.”

Graham was born on Nov. 7, 1918, on a dairy farm near Charlotte, NC.

As a baseball-loving farm boy with dreams of playing in the big leagues, Graham’s ambitions were more sports-minded than spiritual at first.

“But the talent for baseball obviously was not there,” he said.

Graham’s deeply felt Christian beliefs began to take shape at the age of 16, when he was “saved” at a local tent revival after listening to the firebrand sermonizing of Baptist evangelist Mordecai Ham.

President John F. Kennedy sits with Christian evangelist Billy Graham at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC, in February 1961. Getty Images Graham and President Lyndon B. Johnson talk at the Annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, in February 1964. Getty Images Graham appears at an event with President Ronald Reagan in February 1983 in Washington, DC. Getty Images President George H.W. Bush stands with Graham at the White House in January 1991, shortly after Graham made a speech declaring that the Gulf War was a "fight for peace" that would result in "a new world order." Getty Images Graham and former President Richard Nixon attend the memorial service for Patricia Nixon in June 1993 at the Richard Nixon Library. WireImage Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, with his wife, Laura Bush, stand beside Graham as Graham announces his support for Bush in November 2000 in Jacksonville, Florida. AFP/Getty Images Former President Bill Clinton speaks along with Graham during Graham's Crusade at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in June 2005 in Queens, New York. Getty Images Ad Up Next Close Netanyahu's confidant to testify against him in corruption probes JERUSALEM — A confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu... 7 View Slideshow Back Continue Share this: Facebook

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“I did not feel any special emotion,” Graham said in his 1997 autobiography, “Just As I Am.” “I simply felt at peace.”

It wasn’t until college that he began to seriously consider devoting his life to spreading the Gospel.

At the Florida Bible Institute, he tried out his sermons on snakes and alligators — even sequestering himself in a toolshed so he could preach to “oil cans and lawn mowers,” Martin said.

He was called to the ministry on a golf course next to the Institute.

“Did I want to preach for a lifetime? I asked myself that question for the umpteenth time on one of my nighttime walks around the golf course,” Graham wrote in his autobiography.

“The inner, irresistible urge would not subside. Finally, one night, I got down on my knees at the edge of one of the greens. Then I prostrated myself on the dewy turf. ‘Oh God,’ I sobbed, ‘if you want me to serve you, I will.’ ”

“In my spirit I knew I had been called to the ministry. And I knew my answer was yes,” he added.

Graham went on to graduate from Wheaton College in Illinois, where he met his future wife, Ruth Bell, whose father had served as a Presbyterian medical missionary in China. They eventually had five children together.

The Southern Baptist preacher’s big break came in 1949, when he held a tent revival in Los Angeles dubbed the “Canvas Cathedral.”

Publishing titan William Randolph Hearst threw his support behind the young minister, creating a media frenzy and catapulting him to fame.

“Evangelist Graham seemed to be wielding the revival sickle as no one since Billy Sunday had wielded it,” Time magazine declared.

With his piercing blue eyes and rugged handsomeness, Graham exuded charisma on stage, thrilling crowds who fed off his earnest energy and powerful passion for Christ.

By the mid-1950s, he’d become an evangelical icon — and thanks to technology like TV and radio, his fame spread far and wide.

Graham met with 12 presidents throughout his lifetime, and took heat for his close friendship with Richard Nixon.

“Eisenhower was the first president that really asked my counsel in depth, when he was sending troops into Little Rock,” Graham once said.

“He was thinking about sending troops down there to enforce the law [against segregation]. He said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘I don’t think you have an alternative; this is a terrible thing.’”

Graham had been pals with Nixon since 1950 and was shocked by the Watergate scandal.

“I wonder whether I might have exaggerated his spirituality in my own mind,” Graham later wrote in his autobiography.

His relationship with Nixon came back to haunt him in 2002, when White House tapes on which Graham is heard making anti-Semitic comments with the former president were released.

“A lot of the Jews are great friends of mine,” Graham said in the 1972 recording. “They swarm around me and are friendly to me because they know that I’m friendly with Israel. But they don’t know how I really feel about what they are doing to this country.”

The preacher was quick to apologize, saying he had “no memory of the occasion” and “they do not reflect my views.”

Graham’s simple teachings attracted attention around the WORLD — even from Queen Elizabeth II, whose relationship with the reverend was recently dramatized in “The Crown.”

“I always found her very interested in the Bible and its message,” he wrote in his autobiography.

“After preaching at Windsor one Sunday, I was sitting next to the Queen at lunch. I told her I had been undecided until the last minute about my choice of sermon and had almost preached on the healing of the crippled man in John 5. Her eyes sparkled and she bubbled over with enthusiasm, as she could do on occasion. ‘I wish you had!’ she exclaimed. ‘That is my favorite story.’ ”

Graham’s reputation was never tarnished by sex or financial scandals, as he took a modest salary from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and refused to be alone with women other than his wife.

A frequent talk-show guest, he also maintained a playful sense of humor.

According to “The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham,” he once told a story about the time he asked a little boy for directions to a post office — then invited him to one of his crusades.

“You can hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven,” he told the child.

“I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy replied. “You don’t even know your way to the post office.”

With Post wires