CHRISTMAS EVE MASS has just ended at St. Athanasius Church in the South Bronx. Three little girls in angel costumes and a trio of parishioners dressed as the three wise men stream outside into a cool mist blowing on Tiffany Street. Inside, the 80-year-old church is glowing in the warm light of hundreds of red and white candles. To the left of the altar, churchgoers gather around Father Louis Gigante and exchange holiday greetings.
For many families in the Hunts Point community, the 56-year-old Gigante is a saint. He has been credited with singlehandedly halting an urban death march by rescuing sections of the South Bronx
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