Tomb of Julia Greeley
“Her charity was so great that only God knows its extent. She was constantly visiting the poor and giving them assistance from her own slender means. Her charity was as delicate as it was great.”
The tomb of Julia Greeley holds the bodily remains of the only person in Colorado who has an open case within the Roman Catholic Church for sainthood. It is not the tomb of a bishop or priest, clergy or civic leader, but a woman whose life reflected the selfless and sacrificial love of Jesus.
Fr. Samuel Morehead is the former Rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, where Julia’s tomb is located. He describes Julia as “a strong woman of faith fueled by her love of Jesus and Jesus’ love for her.”
Julia Greeley was born into enslavement in Missouri between 1833 and 1855. While she was still a young child, Julia’s right eye was caught by a whip and destroyed by her enslaver. She would leave Missouri after the Emancipation Act in 1865 and move to work for white families in Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico.
Julia entered Sacred Heart Parish in Denver in 1880. She swept and dusted the Sacred Heart church every week and performed other small tasks. Whatever she did not need for herself, Julia spent assisting poor families in her neighborhood. When her own resources were inadequate, she would beg for food, fuel, and clothing for those in need. Often, to avoid embarrassing white families in poverty, Julia would carry on her charitable work at night delivering goods in a little red wagon through the dark streets of Denver.
Julia held a special care for firefighters, who she believed risked their lives daily when wooden homes and structures in Denver caught fire regularly. She would walk to fire stations across the city, praying for firefighters and distributing prayer leaflets each month, despite suffering from severe arthritis.
Julia Greeley died on June 7, 1918, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. As her body lay in state, it is estimated that over 1,000 people attended her funeral. The prosperous and the poor, the prominent and those society had passed over, all came to honor the life of a woman who embodied the sacrificial love of Jesus.
Julia’s life and legacy have gone unknown to many in our city. The Julia Greeley Guild is dedicated to having Julia’s story known and committed to supporting her case for sainthood. Mary Leisring, president of the guild, believes Julia’s life is a model to follow. “She stands out as a person that I would like to imitate…I try to think of Julia, and what would Julia do in a case like this?” said Leisring.
In 2017, her body was exhumed from its grave at Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery to be moved to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Julia’s physical remains now lie in a simple marble coffin. The Sacred Heart of Jesus—the symbol of the sacrificial love of Jesus that Julia gave her devotion to—is carved on the tomb with the inscription “Beloved Julia Greeley.”
The tomb of Julia Greeley is a place that reminds us of a woman who, fueled by the love of Jesus, selflessly and sacrificially loved those in need. It is a place to honor the life and legacy of those who have faithfully followed Jesus in our city before us. It is a place of prayer for our lives to reflect the love of Jesus for our neighbor. The tomb of Julia Greeley is a sacred place.
To learn more about about Julia Greeley visit juliagreeley.org
