Remembering Father Bill Atkinson 20 years after death: "He was a Delco guy"

Tuesday marks 20 years since the death of Augustinian priest Father Bill Atkinson. The Delaware County native spent decades teaching thousands of young men at Monsignor Bonner High School.

Janine Mullen Zozaya makes a visit to the crypt of Father William Atkinson. To her, he was Uncle Bill.

"He was a very ordinary person," she said. "A fun person to be around. He liked to joke, he liked a cold beer, he loved doing puzzles."

Father Atkinson died Sept. 15, 2006, following an extended illness. After 20 years and many stories about the challenges he overcame as the first Catholic quadriplegic priest, the question is obvious: is the Delco priest any closer to sainthood?

"He wasn't just a good guy. He was someone who mirrored love, perseverance, patience of Christ to us and now 20 years later, to the world," Father Rob Hagan said.

A number of cases of possible miracles are under review at the Vatican. Atkinson's cause has seen increased visibility after his remains were moved to the chapel at Villanova University. 

"I think what excites us most promoting his cause for canonization is sharing his spirit, example and life with the world," Hagan said.

Atkinson taught for decades at Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill. He oversaw the detention program known as Justice Under God or "JUG."

"He was a Delco guy, a Delco priest — liked to play cards, go to games, go to the shore, hang out with nieces and nephews and do ordinary things we like to do," Hagan said.

Those praying for Atkinson's canonization and sainthood have been patient, a page right out of the priest's own book.

"Even in those ordinary experiences was an extraordinary life," Hagan said.

"Now I see the ordinary things that he did were actually very extraordinary," Mullen Zozaya said. 

The fifth annual Father Atkinson Pilgrimage is set for Thursday at 3 p.m. at Villanova.