By Fr. Thomas Dailey, O.S.F.S. • Posted June 21, 2024

(See a photo gallery from the June 14 event here.)

Fr. Bill Atkinson has a new home – at least here below.

On June 14, in a ceremony presided over by Archbishop Nelson Pérez, the mortal remains of the Servant of God were “translated” (i.e., moved) to a dedicated space in the parish church of St. Thomas of Villanova.  It was in the monastery attached to the church that Fr. Bill died, and in the church that his funeral was celebrated in September 2006.

A beloved Augustinian friar, Fr. Bill was the first quadriplegic ever ordained to the priesthood, an extraordinary story recently featured in a PBS documentary. Following his ordination, Fr. Bill ministered at Monsignor Bonner High School in Delaware County for almost 30 years as a religion teacher and moderator of the football team.

Eleven years after his death, upon a request from the Augustinian province and with the endorsement of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, his Cause for Beatification and Canonization was formally opened by Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap, when he was serving as shepherd of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  With that, Fr. Bill received the title “Servant of God.”

That canonical investigation reached its conclusion in 2021, when Archbishop Nelson Pérez closed the diocesan phase of the Cause and sent the extensive documentation to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican.  Now in what is called the “Roman phase,” the Cause continues through the work of the dicastery and the Augustinian postulator general.

Moving mortal remains is not simply a matter of excavation and transportation!  Because of Fr. Bill’s status as a Servant of God, the entire process is governed by formal procedures from the Vatican dicastery and is overseen by appointed members of an archdiocesan tribunal. The process is not a “step” along the way to sainthood, nor can it be a publicly promoted celebration.

On June 10, with duly sworn witnesses and notaries on hand, Fr. Bill’s grave was identified, and his remains were removed by the staff of Calvary Cemetery in Conshohocken with the artful assistance of a team from the New Jersey-based Bradbury Vault Company.

Immediately afterward, his casket, placed in a new vault, was transported to the O’Leary Funeral Home in nearby Springfield. There, the exhumation took place under the supervision of an archaeological consultant and a certified mortician, both of whom also have degrees in canon law and experience in working with causes of saints.

After the procedures for the collection of relics were completed, the staff of the O’Leary Funeral home prepared the remains for preservation in the new space in an alcove of the church of St. Thomas of Villanova.  There, the Servant of God was newly laid to rest in a sarcophagus designed and constructed by the St. Jude Liturgical Arts Studio in Havertown.

In the ceremony of committal, prayers for the commendation of Fr. Bill’s soul to God were said following the Order of Christian Burial.  The remains were then bound with ribbon and stamped with wax seals before being placed in the sarcophagus. Also placed in the sarcophagus was a parchment (“rogito”) documenting the exhumation and translation that was signed by the archbishop, the members of the tribunal, the canonical witnesses, and both the Augustinian prior provincial and postulator general.

Following the committal ceremony, the archbishop served as principal celebrant at a Mass of Thanksgiving, at which members of the Augustinian province and of the Atkinson family were in attendance.

The prior of the Augustinian province, Fr. Rob Hagan, O.S.A., preached the homily. He thanked all those involved in the week’s services, and the scores of people who assisted Fr. Bill in his life and work, highlighting how this was a piece with Fr. Bill’s legacy of “continuing to carry and rise from the cross.”  He also reminded everyone that Fr. Bill remains an example perseverance for all noting that “his body was paralyzed, but he still moved forward.”

In closing remarks, the archbishop added his acclamation of a glorious day for the Atkinson family, the Augustinian province, and the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Wondering whether Villanova University is now the only Catholic university to have a real “Servant of God” on its campus, the archbishop encouraged the Augustinians to include Fr. Bill’s story in the curriculum. He also expressed his hope that, as a result of this translation, “many students will come to know Fr. Bill’s life story, his example of virtue, and especially his faith.”

The Servant of God is now at rest on the campus of Villanova University where he was once a student. The hope for translating his remains to this central location is that more people will learn about his exemplary life and his grace-filled story of virtuous perseverance in the face of so many obstacles.

Amid today’s challenges, this sacred space also offers a more accessible place in which the Augustinian friars and all the lay faithful in the archdiocese can encounter Fr. Bill in spirit and seek the prayerful intercession of this Servant of God.

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Fr. Thomas Dailey, O.S.F.S., holds the John Cardinal Foley Chair of Homiletics & Social Communications and directs the Catholic Preaching Institute at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary.  He was appointed by Archbishop Perez as his Episcopal Delegate for the diocesan phase of Fr. Atkinson’s Cause for Beatification and Canonization, as well as for the canonical recognition and translation of the mortal remains of the Servant of God.