IT’S OFFICIAL: JULIA GREELEY IS ON THE ROAD TO SAINTHOOD
Julia Greeley was officially launched on the road to sainthood on August, 4, 2016 when Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila signed papers declaring her “Servant of God.”
With his signature, the process to transform an impoverished and disabled former slave into St. Julia Greeley went into high gear. The designation “Servant of God” means that the Catholic authorities in Rome have determined that a preliminary investigation into her life has revealed her to have lived a “heroic” life until her death in Denver on June 7, 1918. It means the Church has determined that Julia followed the will of God to an amazing degree, even beyond what a “good” and virtuous person would be expected to do.
When it comes to sainthood causes, the Church is slow and methodical. Still ongoing in mid 2019, is a rigorous examination of Julia’s life by the Historical Commission working with the Congregation for Causes of Saints in Rome. The commission members are reading Julia’s historical biography and investigating the known records related to Julia, which includes information from the archives in Missouri where she was born into slavery.
Despite the long wait, people everywhere — Catholics and non Catholics alike — have an immediate role to play in Julia’s cause. One of the requirements for sainthood is the granting of one or several unexplainable, independently verified medical miracles that came about because people prayed specifically to Julia to ask her to ask God for healing from a severe, terminal illness or a hopeless medical condition. The point is not that Julia grants the healing — it’s that she is so close to God that through her intercession, God granted the healing.
The Church is currently seeking verifiable evidence of miracles. For more information contact the juliagreeleyguild.org, or the Archdiocese of Denver. All claims must be independently and medically verified and fully documented.
After living in obscurity well into her 80’s (no one knows her exact age) and despite severe disabilities, nevertheless Julia became known for walking through the streets of Denver, bringing food, clothing and the love of Jesus Christ to people even less fortunate than she. She was so beloved that more than a thousand mourners are reported to have passed her casket to pay their respects to “Old Julia” just before she was laid to rest in Denver’s Mt Olivet Cemetery.
But that wasn’t the end of the story. Exactly 99 years later, on June 7, 2017, her body was reverently exhumed and placed in a beautiful marble tomb in the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Denver.
Addressing a large crowd that day, Assistant Bishop Jorge Rodriguez of Denver noted that Julia, an impoverished black woman and former slave who was disabled and living in obscurity, had achieved what no bishop or priest had yet done — to be buried in the Cathedral with high honors.
Her reputation for holiness continues to endure. She is a role model for all women, and an inspiration to anyone facing poverty, hardship, or pain. She is our patron at the Julia Greeley Home because she is an example of the courage, spirit and dignity that is possible for women everywhere.
