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VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — While Archbishop Charles Chaput was preparing for the Philadelphia visit of Pope Francis two months ago, he took time to give his blessing to a mission that may make a deceased Delaware County man a saint.
On Sept. 15, nine years to the day the Rev. William Atkinson died at St. Thomas Monastery on Villanova University's campus, Chaput officially agreed to support the Augustinian Fathers' cause to make their fellow cleric a saint. As a result, Atkinson earned the title "Servant of God."
Late in the afternoon on Nov. 17 during the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops' annual fall General Assembly in Baltimore, Chaput received a ringing endorsement from his colleagues to pursue sainthood for the former Monsignor Bonner High School teacher who, in 1974, became the first quadriplegic man to be ordained a Roman Catholic priest
"The USCCB voted and unanimously agreed that his cause should move forward," said the Rev. Anthony DiGuglielmo, vice chancellor for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
A candidate for canonization must first be designated "Servant of God", then "Venerable" and finally, "Blessed" before reaching the rank of "Saint." Investigation traditionally does not begin until five years after the candidate's death although that time period can be waived by the pontiff as it was for Pope John Paul II who died in 2005 and was canonized in 2014.
It is now up to the Augustinian priests and brothers to gather the necessary information through witness interviews and documentation to establish that Atkinson was a person of heroic virtue and therefore worthy of the next step toward sainthood, that is, to be deemed "Venerable" by the Vatican.
"We all should lead a virtuous life, but did he do anything in a heroic way to live that virtuous life?" said DiGuglielmo in explaining the criteria weighed by theologians when considering the cause of sainthood.
When the documentation is gathered, it will be reviewed by censors who could be theologians from anywhere in the United States, to ensure that none of the findings offered by the Augustinians about Atkinson are contrary to church teaching.
"They will then report to Archbishop Chaput to see if it should continue," said DiGuglielmo who, like Atkinson, was raised in Upper Darby.
If the archbishop approves the censors' report, Atkinson's cause would then go to Rome to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints that would make a recommendation to Pope Francis as to whether Atkinson should be deemed "Venerable."
"There is no time line," said DiGuglielmo. "It could take years to gather the documentation, review it and compile it and send it to the Vatican."
Nevertheless, the Augustinians already have a healthy head start in documenting the saintliness of Atkinson who spent more than 40 years in a wheelchair, unable to move from the neck down, after breaking his spine in a 1965 tobogganing accident while in the seminary. He spent 30 of those years on the faculty of his alma mater, Monsignor Bonner High School in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby.
When the Rome-based Postulator General of the Order of Saint Augustine, the Rev. Josef Sciberras, and the Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, the Rev. Michael DiGregorio, met with Chaput in his Philadelphia office on Sept. 15, they presented him with official documentation requesting the opening of the canonization process for Atkinson.
"Presented, in addition to the formal written request for the introduction of the cause, made by Father Sciberras on behalf of the Prior General of the Order, Father Alejandro Moral Anton, were a short biography of Father Bill and a list of 53 individuals as witnesses able to offer testimony on behalf of the cause," said DiGregorio.
He said he had initially informed Chaput of the Augustinians' desire to pursue the cause of sainthood for the late priest who had lived and worked in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, in March and the archbishop was receptive to the idea.
"Obviously, we are delighted that the cause is underway, and that we will have the opportunity to make the life and virtues of Father Bill more widely known. We rely very much on the friends and acquaintances of our brother to spread knowledge of him, to assist us in collecting data that can further the cause, and recommend his intercession to those in need," DiGregorio said last week.
He noted that the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova is establishing The Father Bill Atkinson Guild, an organization that will coordinate promotion of the cause through the distribution of materials, the collection of testimonies and possible favors received, as well as the collection of funds to support the guild's work.
Sciberras first traveled to Radnor from Rome to investigate Atkinson's cause for sainthood in August 2014. At that time he met with DiGregorio and other people who knew Atkinson including fellow Augustinians, relatives and friends. He collected information about their experiences with Atkinson as a way to determine whether the late priest's cause for sainthood should be pursued.
"He thought from what he heard there was very good reason to promote the cause and possibly achieve the happy result of beatification and canonization," DiGregorio said in September.
DiGregorio himself resided in the Augustinian Curia in Rome when he served as Vicar General for the entire Augustinian Order from 2007 until 2013. He is now major superior of nearly 200 Augustinians on the East Coast and in missions in Peru, Japan and South Africa
"There really is a desire on the part of the faithful to see this take place," DiGregorio said in September. "We have confidence he was outstanding in his virtuous life and worthy in recognition of the Church as someone who is an excellent example of living the Gospel."
Currently an Augustinian Friar is writing a biography about Atkinson so the public may become more familiar with him, and DiGregorio is continuing to collect stories from those who knew or have prayed to Atkinson and may be able to help advance his cause for sainthood.
"If people believe they have received some favor or if Father Bill had some influence on their lives through teaching or preaching or in any way had come in contact with him and have anything they would like to tell about their experiences, we'd like to hear from them," DiGregorio said in September.
He welcomes feedback from people of all faiths who may have been touched by Atkinson including those the priest visited as part of his ministry at Delaware County Memorial Hospital that neighbored his longtime residence at St. Joseph Friary which was formerly attached to Monsignor Bonner High School.
When the 19-year-old Atkinson became paralyzed from the neck down, he thought his dream of becoming a priest was dashed. However, in July 1973, Pope Paul VI granted permission for Atkinson to become the first quadriplegic man to be ordained a priest. On Feb. 3, 1974 at St. Alice Church in the Stonehurst section of Upper Darby, Philadelphia Cardinal John Krol conferred the Sacrament of Holy Orders on Atkinson who went on to teach at his alma mater, Monsignor Bonner High School, for 30 years.
Before the Augustinian died at age 60 in 2006, he had inspired many with his wisdom and courage, some of whom believe he qualifies for sainthood
Among them is his second cousin, Mary Moody of Brookhaven, and his friend, Richard Heron of Media, owner of a home health care agency, who assisted Atkinson for more than three decades. Last week Moody said she was thrilled to learn that hers and Heron's advocacy efforts since Atkinson's death had helped officially launch the investigation for his potential sainthood.
"He wasn't able to physically touch anyone but he hoped to have people feel his presence," said Moody. "His outstanding ability to be patient, to wait and then to ask for assistance will help him during this long process on the road to sainthood."
Augustinians taught at Bonner from 1953 until dwindling numbers ended their presence at the then-all-boys high school in 2009. Atkinson spent half of his life teaching at his alma mater where he was a member of the Class of 1963. DiGregorio was a Friar when Atkinson, who had spent 20 months in hospitals after his disabling toboggan accident, returned to the Augustinian Collegiate Seminary of St. Mary's at Villanova University in September 1966 to resume his studies.
"I lived with him for three years at Villanova," said DiGregorio.
The third of seven children of Allan and Mary Atkinson, he was an altar boy at St. Alice Church where he attended the parish grade school. Atkinson was a muscular athlete when he graduated from Monsignor Bonner High School in 1963 and entered the Order of St. Augustine Seminary in Staten Island, New York. In 1964, he moved to the novitiate of the Augustinians in New Hamburg, New York, where, on Feb. 22, 1965, the toboggan he was riding with other seminarians left the trail during a snowstorm and slammed into a tree.
His spine broken, Atkinson's outlook for recovery was bleak. His weight dropped to 90 pounds and he stopped breathing several times due to pneumonia. Eventually Atkinson was transferred to Magee Memorial Hospital, now Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, in Philadelphia, where six fellow seminarians lived with him and learned how to care for him.
They taught 50 other seminarians Atkinson's care regimen. After his return to the seminary, all 140 seminarians helped care for their fellow seminarian who could not move his body from his neck down. His team of caregivers expanded to friends and students after he joined the Monsignor Bonner faculty.
Atkinson taught theology at Bonner where he was moderator of the Class of 1986, the football team and extra-curricular intramural sports, presided at many proms and organized Mother & Son dinners. Heron, who grew-up with Atkinson in St. Alice parish, was a year ahead of him at Bonner and was even an Augustinian brother for five years before deciding to leave the order to pursue a nursing degree. Heron was reunited with Atkinson when the priest was being treated at Magee for a bed sore.
"I visited him there and mentioned that I would be glad to help him whenever he needed it. His main request was for the assistance in the morning getting ready and completing his personal hygiene because all of the fellow Augustinians were already at school," said Heron.
When Atkinson returned to Bonner, Heron started getting the priest up in the mornings which led to a 35-year friendship.
"Being in the presence of this man for all those years, I have seen him face many stressful situations. He always amazed me with his Christian charity," Heron told the Daily Times in August.
Moody noted that Heron trained Bonner students selected by Atkinson in how to care for the quadriplegic priest.
"Bill always interviewed the parents of the boys he chose to make sure they were mature enough to handle the situation. Sometimes they stayed overnight in the room next to him because he physically had to be turned every two hours. The parents wanted them to do it. They approved of their sons working with Bill," said Moody.
Several of those boys would later tell Daily Times reporters about the positive impact Atkinson had on their lives while they helped care for him. Other Bonner alumni wrote letters to the editor about how Atkinson inspired them while they were his students.
One of those students, Peter Ruggiero, commissioned a painting of Atkinson in November 2013. It now hangs among a gallery of saints on the wall of the reconciliation room near the Baptismal font at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Upper Providence, said the pastor, the Rev. Msgr. Ralph Chieffo.
"Many of our parishioners were taught by Father at Bonner and consider him a saint," said Chieffo.
The monsignor knew Atkinson through his sisters, Joan Alice Mullen and Betty Harvey, who are members of his parish. Atkinson's other siblings include Patricia McCaffrey, Mary D'Alessandro and Al and Edward Atkinson.
"Father would come for family baptisms and weddings," said Chieffo who also had participated in a retreat led by Atkinson.
The pastor noted that Atkinson was honored for being named a Servant of God at St. Mary Magdalen's All Saints Day Mass on Nov. 1.
"His dear sisters, Elizabeth Harvey and Joan Mullen, his brothers, Al and Ed and their spouses and children joined in praying for miracles so that Father Bill can be named 'Venerable,' the next step towards being canonized a saint," said Chieffo.
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Information from: Delaware County Daily Times, http://www.delcotimes.com
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