I am amazed that I have not heard this story before! Last Friday, June 6, I saw that the latest “Jesuitical” episode was available. The main focus of the episode was an interview they had taped on the campus of Villanova University in March of 2025 — before Pope Francis had passed away and before the Augustinian and graduate of Villanova, Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected and took the name Pope Leo XIV. In the interview with the prior provincial of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, Father Robert Hagan, O.S.A., they discuss the life of Father Bill Atkinson.
I strongly encourage you to listen to the interview. You can skip the first 20 minutes of the episode and go right to the interview, if you like, and listen to them talking about this AMAZING priest and his AMAZING story. Here is the link to the “Jesuitical” podcast.
There is also a YouTube video, called “extraORDINARY The Bill Atkinson Story” — with some great pictures, video, and personal testimonies from family, friends, and fellow Augustinian Friars that also tells the AMAZING story. The life and ministry of “the first quadriplegic priest,” ordained on Feb. 2, 1974, serving as a priest and teacher until his death on Sept. 15, 2006, will surely inspire you in many ways, especially in the witness of Father Bill’s perseverance, humility, and faith in the midst of great sufferings and daily challenges. For additional information, you can go to the Augustinian website.
I hope to write more on this topic in the weeks and months to come, but there is something very moving and beautiful about the interview on the “Jesuitical” podcast. Again, I highly and strongly recommend your taking the time to listen.
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