Father Robert Hagan celebrates Mass for Father Bill Atkinson

Father Robert Hagan celebrated a memorial Mass for Father Bill Atkinson on Sept. 15 at St. Thomas of Villanova Church to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. The Mass, held at the university campus church where Father Atkinson's body rests, honored the longtime theology teacher and mentor who taught at Msgr. Bonner High School in Drexel Hill.

Father Atkinson is a Servant of God currently on the path toward sainthood, with an active movement working to promote his cause. He was the first quadriplegic man ordained a priest after a tobogganing accident during his studies left him unable to use his arms and legs. Father Hagan noted that Father Atkinson lived a life of faith and love despite his physical limitations.