You can help the Archdiocese of Denver in the cause for canonization of the Servant of God Julia Greeley, if you, or someone you know, had a devotion to this holy woman before 2011.
The Congregation for the Causes of the Saints states that the person considered for beatification must enjoy “an authentic and widespread reputation of holiness… as well as an authentic and widespread reputation of intercessory power.”
As part of the investigation into Julia’s life and virtues, the archdiocese is collecting documentation on Julia Greeley’s reputation of holiness and intercessory prayer to send to Rome.
Since the Congregation requires her reputation of holiness to be “spontaneous” and not “artificially produced,” the devotion must have started prior to the 2011 foundation of The Julia Greeley Guild, which works to extend awareness of Julia Greeley and encourage people to ask for her intercession.
You can aid her cause by sending a testimonial to the archdiocese describing your long-standing devotion to her.
Greeley, the former slave who came to Denver and joined the Catholic Church in the late 1800s, is the first person the Archdiocese of Denver has proposed for sainthood.
June will mark the 100th death anniversary of Denver’s “Angel of Charity,” who walked the streets of the city promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart and visiting and helping the poor.
Her parish priest, Father Charles A. McDonnell, said she had been charitable to an astonishing degree and her devotion to the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Mother and the Eucharist was marvelous.
Greeley constantly visited the poor and begged to help them. She went to the extent of visiting them at night if they were sensitive about receiving help from an old colored woman and was commonly seen carrying groceries or coal to give to those in need.
“Her charity was as delicate as it was great,” her obituary states. “She loved children with that intensity found in saints… Her marvelous piety and her constant charity made her the friend of everybody.”
She exemplified three qualities of holiness throughout her life: humility, perseverance and faith, Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez said during the transfer ceremony, in which her remains were moved from Mount Olivet Cemetery to Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in December 2016.
Please send your testimonials to David Uebbing, vice-postulator of Julia’s Cause, at vicepostulator@archden.org.
