BUFFALO, N.Y. — Hearts are heavy as the Buffalo community remembers Bishop William Henderson.

The family released a statement on his passing Tuesday, which says he battled a myriad of health issues, but was resilient and pressed on with purpose and conviction.

He became pastor of the Michigan Street Baptist Church in 1974.

The family says people would come from all over the globe to hear him tell stories about escaped enslaved people hiding in the church as part of the Underground Railroad.

Bishop William Henderson leaves behind his wife of 40 years, Dianna Henderson, three children, and four grandchildren.