The Communion of Saints is a “Catholic Hall of Fame,” and the late Father Bill Atkinson’s impact on the Catholic Church makes him Babe Ruth, Tom Brady, and Michael Jordan rolled into one, says Father Robert Hagan, prior principal of the Augustinian Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova.

Father Atkinson, an Upper Darby native, is the first quadriplegic to be ordained as a priest, and now he’s on a path toward sainthood, writes Michael Bradley for Main Line Today.

His Augustinian ministry lasted more than three decades and included influence over thousands of students at Monsignor Bonner & Prendergast Catholic High School in Drexel Hill.

The Vatican is reviewing documents, interviews and testimonials on Father Atkinson.

Archdiocese chancellor Father Sean Bransfield, who assembled the materials, came to have a deep admiration for him.

“I became personally convinced of his holiness and goodness and virtue. I kept hearing the same thing over and over from people of all walks of life. His life was a reflection of his desire to love God and others. There’s no doubt about that.”

The sainthood process can take more than 25 years and requires three miracles performed in the candidate’s name.

Read more about the life of Father Bill Atkinson in Main Line Today.

At 6:00 a.m., Bill Atkinson felt handed a crushing cross. At 6:01, he says God sent the people to help him carry it. This is the true story of a local man who survived a devastating 1965 accident, lived with paralysis, and still became the first quadriplegic priest ordained in the Catholic Church, then spent decades teaching, serving, and lifting others up.

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on DELCO Today in January 2025.