Denver’s Catholic archdiocese is looking into a proposed sainthood for Julia Greeley, known for her community service.
Julia Greeley was born into slavery in Missouri sometime between 1833 and 1848. Freed by Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Julia made a living for herself serving white families in Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico. Though a majority of her time was spent in Denver. Through her life, when Julia wasn’t working her time was spent her time helping out poor families in her neighborhood. When her own funds ran low, she begged for food, fuel and clothing for the needy. Julia was a thoughtful and extremely helpful person in her community, even going as far as doing most of her charity work at night or in dark alleys as to not embarrass the people she was helping. In 1880 Julia joined the Catholic Church at Sacred Heart Parish in Denver. She proved to be an integral part of the community, being an outstanding supporter of everything the Parish did for the community. Those who ran the Parish praised Julia for her work and charitable attributes, considering her “The most enthusiastic promoter of devotion at Sacred Heart of Jesus they had ever seen,” (according to the website dedicated to her).
https://vimeo.com/151101683
Julia was an amazing woman, filled to the brim with love and charitable acts
Aside from her Batman style of giving back, every month she would visit the fire station in Denver (on foot!). She would deliver literature from the parish to the fireman. Julia joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1901 and was a very active member until her death in 1918.This wonderful woman had a strong impact on the community. Hundreds of people paid their grateful respects to her and the wonderful things she did for others. It’s for all of these reasons Julia Greeley is one of four people that U.S. bishops voted in to be considered for canonization, or Sainthood.The canonization process has several steps involved. Testimonies of her charitable deeds will be compiled, along with documentation of her deeds and life. These reports will then be sent to the Vatican. From there, they will make the decision to proceed. If you’d like to learn more about Julia and her Saintly life, feel free to visit her Guild website. There you can find testimonials of her good deeds, a timeline of her charitable acts, and tons more!
