Julia the Innovator:
First to enroll firefighters in a prayer union
Today, it’s called the Julia Greeley Firefighters Prayer Union. A century ago, Julia Greeley herself launched probably the country’s first prayer union dedicated to firefighters.
Her way was to enroll as many firefighters as she could in The League of the Sacred Heart.
“What are you selling now, Julie?” was the affectionate greeting one day from Denver Fire Chief Terry Owens. The year was about 1900, and Julia – many called her Julie — was a familiar sight as she hobbled into any one of Denver’s 15 fire stations, which she did regularly.
She was known around town for selling tickets to benefit orphans, but her greatest devotion was to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and she worked tirelessly to enroll as many Denver firefighters in The League of the Sacred Heart as possible.
Her “tickets” were Sacred Heart badges that firefighters could tuck in their pockets or gear. The badges, made of sturdy cloth, assured firefighters of her prayers, and that they were under Christ’s powerful protection in their dangerous, life-threatening work.
Julia had a spirited comeback to Chief Owens’ teasing question: “These tickets are for Heaven, Chief, and I want to give them to all your men!”
Why did Julia love firefighters so much? Life threatening fires were a daily danger in Julia’s day, and one in particular, on March 23, 1895, may have especially moved her. It broke out a few blocks from her modest room and became one of Denver’s most disturbing fire tragedies of all time: Four firefighters crashed through the mezzanine floor of a burning building, and were engulfed in the inferno beneath them.
Today’s modern structures bear no comparison with the tinder-box buildings of the 19th century, but firefighters still face unique dangers in the 21st century — among them, unpredictable urban wildfires, encounters with crime and violence, and maybe most critical of all, the firefighters’ own job stress and personal pressures.
The story above is from the Julia Greeley biography, “In Secret Service of the Sacred Heart,” by Father Blaine Burkey, OFM Cap.