A new biography of Rev. William "Bill" Atkinson, the first quadriplegic man ordained as a Catholic priest, will launch at Villanova University on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Author Sara McDermott Jain will present "The Strength of Others: Father Bill Atkinson, O.S.A. and the Miracle of Community" at the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. The free event begins with a reception from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a panel discussion at 7 p.m. and a book signing at 8:15 p.m. Registration is required.

The discussion will feature Jain, Fr. Bill's sister Joan Alice Atkinson Mullen and Prior Provincial Fr. Robert P. Hagan of the Augustinian Order, according to the order's event listing.

Atkinson grew up in Upper Darby and attended Monsignor Bonner High School before entering the Augustinian Order as a novice. On Feb. 22, 1965, a tobogganing accident on the novitiate grounds in New Hamburg, New York, left the 19-year-old almost completely paralyzed from the neck down. Doctors did not expect him to survive.

He completed his studies at Villanova, and with a special dispensation from Pope Paul VI, John Cardinal Krol ordained him on Feb. 2, 1974, at St. Alice parish in Upper Darby. He went on to teach at Monsignor Bonner for nearly 30 years, serving as theology teacher, assistant chaplain and football team moderator. Villanova awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2000.

Atkinson died on Sept. 15, 2006.

The Catholic Church formally opened his cause for sainthood in 2017, and he holds the title "Servant of God," the first stage of the canonization process.

When asked how he managed a life of dependence on others, Atkinson replied: "Day after day, help of others along the way, valued friends, sisters, brothers, I simply borrowed the strength of others." That line, preserved on the Father Bill Atkinson Service Corps website, gave the book its title.

The 281-page biography, which includes about 30 pages of photographs, draws on dozens of interviews with the Atkinson family, Augustinian friars, former classmates and fellow teachers, the Delco Times reported. Joan Alice Atkinson Mullen spent years after her brother's death collecting memories and conducting roughly 50 interviews.

Jain, a Wallingford resident and staff member at Neumann University, told the Delco Times she structured the book like a novel, with each chapter told from the perspective of someone in Atkinson's life. Her research located Ted Glessner, a survivor of the 1965 tobogganing accident who had been in the seminary with Atkinson and was living in Maine. Three others involved in the accident had died. Glessner, the sole survivor besides Atkinson, provided the family a first-hand account.

"I really wanted to tell the full story of Bill's life, even going back to his childhood, growing up in Upper Darby," Jain told the Delco Times in a Sept. 22 interview.

Upcoming events

  • Wednesday, Sept. 30: "The Strength of Others" book launch, John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts, Villanova University. Reception at 6 p.m., discussion at 7 p.m., book signing at 8:15 p.m. Free; registration required through Villanova's box office.
  • Thursday, Oct. 22: Second book launch, 6 p.m., John J. Mullen Communication Center, Neumann University, Aston.