UPPER DARBY — “I think he will fit very beautifully into the niche of the communion of saints as a very special patron.”
Those are the words of The Most Reverend Charles Chaput, former Archbishop of Philadelphia, spoken in 2017, as he officiated at the formal rite for the beginning of the beatification and canonization process for Augustinian Father William E. Atkinson.
The special Mass and ceremonies, to initiate the journey to sainthood, were held in April 2017, nine years to the day that Atkinson died at St. Thomas Monastery on Villanova University’s campus.
The formal rite, which earned Atkinson the title “Servant of God,” was the first official step taken to make the late Father Atkinson, OSA, an Upper Darby native and the Catholic Church’s first quadriplegic priest, a saint. Now with the process to make Atkinson a recognized saint of the Catholic Church fully underway, a group of local, devoted supporters want to continue spreading the word about the saintly priest and memorialize his legacy for future generations with three magnificent bronze sculptures.
Keeping the cause for sainthood and Atkinson’s memory and legacy front and center, some of the late priest’s friends, former students, family members and supporters have formed a core committee to construct three bronze memorials as constant physical and spiritual reminders of the priest’s extraordinary life and ministry.
Promoted with the tag line, “Sit, Rest, Pray, Heal” and sculpted by artist Timothy Schmalz, each memorial will consist of a life-sized permanent bronze sculpture of Father Atkinson, complete with a bench where visitors can reflect and pray.
“I describe my sculptures as being visual prayers,” remarked Schmalz. “I am committed to capture the spirit of Fr. Bill and spread his positive energy.”
The sculptures will be located at three different locations, two of which are local. One will sit atop the Athletic fields of Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill. Atkinson attended and then taught at Monsignor Bonner High School for 30 years. Students and faculty remember him sitting in the very same spot that’s designated for the memorial, watching the students practice and play sports.
Another location will be in a Healing Garden at St. Augustine Parish in Old City, Philadelphia.
St. Augustine Parish is the first formation of Augustinians in America and the founding location of Villanova University. The garden is often visited by those suffering from illness and addiction, families of the incarcerated, people dealing with homelessness, financial insecurity and others that Atkinson often tried to help through his ministry.
The committee is aiming to put a third bronze sculpture in Rome, the international headquarters of the Augustinians, to help spread Atkinson’s inspirational story to an international audience. With the priest’s documentation affirming the Cause of Beatification and Canonization already in Rome for examination by theologians, committee members said that they want the entire world to know about the remarkable Delaware County native, the soon-to-be saint.
His ardent backers
Two Sculpture Committee members spoke about the project in a recent interview. Mary Moody, of Brookhaven, a cousin of Atkinson, is one of the Sculpture Project’s biggest advocates.
“We want the world to know about Father Bill,” Moody explained. “He was a wonderful and most holy priest, an excellent teacher and an extraordinary man. As soon as we began the fundraising for the memorials, we had $7,000 in donations right away. This is a cause that will benefit so many people who will come to pray and reflect and hopefully receive the powerful intercession of Father Bill.”
Moody has 13 binders of artifacts related to Atkinson, from newspaper articles to photos and letters. The Augustinians made 1,600 copies of many of Moody’s items, some of which were delivered to Rome, as part of the Cause.
“We were extremely close,” Moody shared. “I have original copies of eight of Bill’s poems and 12 letters that he wrote me while in the seminary. I am unsure what went over in the documents to Rome. I know documents supporting several miracles were also submitted, but we are not sure how many miracles are being investigated.”
Another Sculpture Committee member, Marie Keith, of Upper Providence, couldn’t say enough about the intercession of Atkinson.
Keith came to know of Atkinson when her parish, St. Mary Magdalen in Upper Providence, came together in a prayer service to ask for Atkinson’s intercession, seeking a miracle for her son, Cole, who was critically injured in a motorcycle accident.
Cole was 25 years old at the time, a 2017 graduate of Penncrest High School. He was driving on Route 252 on Feb. 23, when another driver made a U-turn on Gradyville Road, never seeing him coming.
“Cole was in a coma for three and a half weeks, on life support,” the mother shook her head at the devastating memory. “He had nine brain bleeds, two punctured lungs, nine broken bones and a damaged kidney. Our pastor, Father Ralph Chieffo, gave Cole the Last Rites.”
According to Keith, Shelly Zeller, a woman in her parish called Keith and told her that she had organized a prayer service to pray to Atkinson, asking for his intercession for a miraculous recovery. Three hundred people came to church and prayed “The Fr. Bill Atkinson Prayer.”
“I continued to pray that prayer with Cole, every single day,” Keith shared. “I never lost hope.”
Slowly, Cole began talking, eating, swallowing, walking and more, Keith stated. In June, her son was well enough to walk his mother up the aisle on her wedding day. Keith attributes her son’s startling progress to a miracle made possible through the intercession of Father Atkinson.
“Cole’s progress has amazed everyone,” Keith shared. “I am convinced, without any doubt, that Father Atkinson’s intercession has everything to do with my son being here today.”
Under the guidance of advisers Fr. Michael DiGregorio, OSA, and Fr. Francis Horn, OSA, the Father Bill Atkinson Sculpture Project committee consists of the following volunteers: Ed Atkinson, Jr.; Ted Donnelly, Michael Farrell; Katie Campbell Garwood; Richard Heron; Marie Helmig Keith; Mary Moody, Fr. Paul Morrissey, OSA; Jane Ryan, Rich Slinkard; and Fr. Bill Waters, OSA.
“A young fellow named Mike Farrell, executive vice President of World Travel, helped our committee get started,” Moody said in a recent interview. “Mike grew up in Delco and went to Bonner. Together, we handpicked our committee of 11 dedicated volunteers. One of those original volunteers was the late Marge Roccio, a much-loved and longtime supporter of Bonner & Prendie High School. Marge was the very first one to donate to our Sculpture Project!”
Committee members took the following pledge: “Father Bill was and continues to be a beacon of hope to those who have challenges. He struggled in life and continues to inspire all who pray for his intercession. As an all-volunteer committee, we desire to spread the word on Fr. Bill to future generations. We hope others will join us to ensure Fr. Bill’s legacy lives on.”
His life and times
William Atkinson was baptized at St. Alice Church in Upper Darby in 1946, later graduating from Msgr. Bonner High School, Class of 1963.
Atkinson spent a year as a postulant at Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, N.Y., before entering the Order of St. Augustine as a novice at Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, N.Y., on Sept. 9, 1964.
While there, Atkinson had an accident on Feb. 22, 1965 that left him almost completely paralyzed from the neck down. The young novice was with his classmates on the novitiate grounds, when the toboggan in which he was riding hit a tree.
Amazingly, he survived the accident, but it left him with very limited movement of his head, neck, shoulders and arms for the rest of his life. Following intense rehabilitation, Atkinson expressed his desire to continue as an Augustinian, and so he was sent to St. Mary’s Hall, Villanova University, the Province’s Collegiate House of Formation.
He began again his novitiate year at Villanova, professing simple vows on July 20, 1970, and solemn vows on July 20, 1973.
A care team of friars assisted Atkinson during his time in formation, and for many years beyond, as he moved about with the use of a motorized wheelchair.
Atkinson completed his years of college and theological studies at Villanova, and with a special dispensation from Pope Paul VI, The Most Reverend John Cardinal Krol, the late former Archbishop of Philadelphia, ordained him to the priesthood at his hometown parish of St. Alice in Upper Darby on Feb. 2, 1974, almost nine years after the accident that left him a quadriplegic.
He celebrated his first Mass at the Fieldhouse of Villanova University.
This past summer, Atkinson supporters held a widely attended ceremony at the 20th Street Pavilion in Ocean City, N.J., to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI granting the dispensation for Atkinson’s ordination. Father Atkinson and his family spent summer vacations in Ocean City and, according to Moody, the late priest enjoyed spending time at that same pavilion.
For almost 30 years, from 1975 until 2004, “Father Bill,” as he was affectionately known, lived at St. Joseph’s Friary, and was a faculty member at Monsignor Bonner High School, where he taught theology, mostly to the senior class.
He also served as assistant school chaplain, senior class retreat coordinator, moderator of the football team, and the director of the after-school and Saturday detention program, known as JUG (Justice Under God).
Atkinson was the recipient of many awards and acknowledgements, among them an honorary doctorate from Villanova University in 2000.
In 2004, Atkinson moved to the Health Care Unit of Saint Thomas Monastery at Villanova University and died on Sept. 15, 2006.
“Father Bill died at age 60,” Moody stated. “He lived 40 years after his serious accident, living out God’s plan for him.”
His funeral liturgy was celebrated in St. Thomas Church, Villanova University, and he was buried in the Augustinian section of Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken.
The process to sainthood
Declaring a person a saint typically is a lengthy process in the church.
Scholars, physicians, cardinals and theologians will study the late priest and his life, as well as investigate some of the miracles which have been attributed to his intercession.
In October, the Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez, archbishop of Philadelphia, presided over the closing ceremony for the archdiocesan phase of the cause of beatification and canonization for Atkinson, held at St. Thomas Church.
After eight years, the closing session drew to completion the juridical inquiry into Fr. Atkinson’s life, virtues, and reputation of holiness and of intercessory power that began in 2015. Since then, the archdiocese has examined historical documents, heard witness testimonies, and conducted related investigations, all for the purpose of gathering proofs to attain moral certitude about his life of heroic virtue.
The diocesan inquiry represents the initial phase in a lengthy process which also includes a Roman inquiry into Atkinson’s virtuous life and reputation for sanctity, separate diocesan and Roman investigations of possible miracles attributed to the intercession of Atkinson, the considered judgment of the members of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and, ultimately, the decision of the Holy Father regarding the outcome of the Cause.
During the closing session, archdiocesan officials provided information summarizing the six-year long inquiry, and the Archbishop decreed that the documentation be authenticated, sealed, and delivered to the Congregation at the Vatican.
The Cause for Fr. Atkinson is at the very beginning. A candidate for canonization must first be designated “Servant of God,” then “Venerable” and finally, “Blessed” before being declared a “Saint.”
The Sculpture Committee is currently working on a special event for this spring, to honor Father Bill’s many caregivers, who will talk about the extraordinary virtues that he displayed on a daily basis. The event will take place in the auditorium of Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast High School and the public will be welcome to attend. Details will be forthcoming.
In the meantime, the Fr. Bill Atkinson Bronze Sculpture Project continues to pick up steam.
With the goal of raising $275,000 to create the three memorials, the committee is spreading the word to Bonner and Villanova alumni, and everyone who has been touched and inspired by Father Atkinson, or who believes and supports his candidacy for sainthood. Moody and Keith both expressed hope that those that they do reach, as well as all those who believe in the cause, will also spread the word so the memorials can soon become a reality.
“We are determined never to give up,” Moody said.
How to get involved
For more information on Father Bill Atkinson, or to make a donation to the Fr. Bill Atkinson Sculpture Project, a registered 501©3 charity:
• Visit https://frbillatkinson.org
• On Facebook, “Fr. Bill Atkinson Sculpture Committee”
• Email info@FrBillAtkinson.org
• Call 610-874-6643
• Send mail to Fr. Bill Atkinson Sculpture Project, 705 Lincoln Drive, Brookhaven, PA 19015.
To find out more about Father Bill Atkinson’s journey to sainthood, visit http://www.Augustinian.org/the-cause.
