Remembering Father Bill, of St. Athanasius Church on Tiffany St.
Hundreds of people streamed in and out of St. Athanasius Church on Tiffany St. one day last week, filing past the thin figure in the coffin at the altar of the 100-year-old, red brick church, the focal point of a bustling neighborhood, dwarfed on all sides by apartment buildings and a pristine nursing-home complex. Across the street are tidy, ranch-style houses.
They were paying respects to the Rev. William Smith, better known as Father Bill Smith, whose church had once stood desolate, towering over rubble and vacant lots in the South Bronx’s darkest days.
Now all the buildings full of people stand as tributes to Smith.
He died last week at 74 years old, after a long illness that weakened but didn’t stop him from serving the people of his beloved South Bronx, whose remarkable recovery Smith had a large hand in.
He was ordained in 1959, and shortly after was assigned to St. John Chrysostom Church on E. 167th St., when the area was still a solid working-class neighborhood.
“He married my wife and me in 1968,” said Luis Burgos, 63, standing in the plaza outside St. Athanasius after he paid respects to Smith, with his granddaughter in tow.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...
Email This Post