Preaching to the masses

Dan Atkins became a priest on the third try.\nHe was told twice by the Catholic Church that he was not ready -- once in eighth grade and the second time right after high school.\nAtkins, 50, has been the pastor at St. Paul Catholic Center since 1994. Week after week, students flock to St. Paul, packing the pews to hear him speak. Atkins' dynamic personality fills the St. Paul community the same way his soft, soothing voice fills the church.\n"He really makes an effort to get to know the people who sit in those pews every weekend," said graduate student Lori Watson. \nYesterday was Ash Wednesday, which Atkins called St. Paul's biggest event. More people come to the church on that day than on Christmas or Easter. \nWhen Atkins smiles, the skin around his steel blue-grey eyes wrinkles -- they are wrinkles brought on from years of grinning. His voice grows soft and its rhythm staccato when he speaks, lending him an air of gentility and humility.