CNA Staff, Jul 20, 2025 /
06:00 am
A new, short documentary tells the story of Servant of God Julia Greeley, also known as Denver’s Angel of Charity, who was born into slavery near Hannibal, Missouri.
“Julia Greeley: Servant of the Sacred Heart” features interviews with Father Blaine Burkey, OFM Cap, who wrote a book on Greeley’s life; Mary Leisring, president of the Julia Greeley Guild; Father Eric Zegeer, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Denver, Greeley’s parish; and Jean Torkelson, executive director of the Julia Greeley Home, a Denver nonprofit that serves women in need.
In the 13-minute documentary, interviewees discuss Greeley’s deep faith, her acts of charity, and her courageous response to the challenges presented throughout her life.
When she was a child, while her master was beating her mother, his whip caught Greeley’s right eye and destroyed it. After she was freed in 1865, she spent her time serving poor families, mostly in Denver.
In 1880, Greeley entered the Catholic Church at Sacred Heart Parish in Denver. She attended daily Mass and had a deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
She joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1901 and was known for her dedication to the people in her community, bringing them things they needed. Despite having arthritis, she walked countless miles to collect and distribute alms and to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Greely died on June 7, 1918, and her cause for canonization was opened by the Archdiocese of Denver in 2016.
Burkey is a retired priest in the Archdiocese of Denver. A scholar and expert on the life of Greeley, in an interview with CNA he described her as “a very zealous person.”
“Despite all the problems people gave her, she turned it around and didn’t spend time worrying about that,” he said.
The priest also highlighted that among Greeley’s many charitable deeds, “every time she had money leftover to take care of herself, she [instead] took care of the poor,” and “she didn’t spend her life trying to get even or [seek] vengeance or anything like that.”
He said he hopes the faithful are “encouraged by that message that you shouldn’t be concerned with vengeance but with mercy.”
“Julia Greeley: Servant of the Sacred Heart” can be viewed for free on YouTube.
Francesca is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency. She received her degree in Communications with an emphasis in Digital Media from the University of Colorado – Denver. She is also in charge of the social media for Catholic News Agency.
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