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Cardinal Emeritus J Francis Stafford offers his insights about Julia and the women of the Julia Greeley Home

His Eminence, Cardinal Emeritus

J. Francis Stafford

In 1998 I was a journalist sent to Rome to cover the installation of Denver's Archbishop Emeritus, J. Francis Stafford, as Cardinal of the Catholic Church. During a long interview, the newly-minted Cardinal Stafford suddenly stopped mid-sentence to ask playfully, "Why are you doing a story on me? You should be doing a story on Julia Greeley!" That was the first I ever heard of Julia, and I knew little more about her until 2013, when Father Regis Scanlon OFM Cap, founded his haven for formerly homeless women, named it for Julia Greeley, and asked me to help out. Last week I had the happy opportunity to remind Cardinal Stafford of the question he raised a full quarter century ago. Educated and trained as a social worker, and instrumental in the founding of Denver's Samaritan House, the Cardinal is uniquely able to speak to the challenges of the poor. But I always wondered — why was Julia on his mind way back in 1998? I'm blessed and gratified to be able to share his answer with you.

—Jean Torkelson, Executive Director,

The Julia Greeley Home

"When I came to Colorado in 1986, I came curious for a new experience -- an experience of new ideas, new imaginations, new ways of looking at my home. And when I came across the story of Julia Greeley I thought, 'What a wonderful discovery!' I was stunned by her, by this beautiful woman. I grew up in Baltimore and had just come from Tennessee. I never had the experience of learning about a slave, born into American slavery, who emerged in 1880 as a woman of great holiness. How did this happen? Of course there is no explanation; it's a great mystery, conversion in Christ. It's God's grace.

Nevertheless, I wondered: What had happened to her? What was her life experience? Her birth was somewhere between 1833 and 1848 (no one knows exactly when), but it was a 15-year span. I began wondering about birthdays. Birthdays are a big event for us. It was a big event for me. I remember being five years of age and my parents celebrating my birthday with family and friends. Why didn't Julia have those experiences? How did she come from that kind of unknowing, to 1880 and her baptism in Christ? And from there to Mass every day, and the reception of the Holy Eucharist, and this profound devotion to Christ and the poor, which is unique?

I regarded Julia's life as an even greater surprise than another experience I found while hiking in the mountains of Colorado: It was the Columbine flower, which I knew nothing about. The name comes from Latin, the Holy Spirit is the symbol, and the imagery of a "dove" goes back to the Renaissance. In my mind, I called Julia Greeley "The Uncommon Columbine of Colorado." This slave woman, hit by a whip and blinded in her right eye at three years of age, not knowing her birthday, or when she was born, yet known for the great holiness of her life! I was filled with wonder, the wonder of God working through her.

What do you think God wants the world to know through Julia's life?

It's interesting, in Father Blaine Burkey's book about Julia ("In Secret Service of the Sacred Heart") we read about the support of the people of Denver for Julia. Many were upper-class people (she was hired as a housekeeper, cook, and child's caregiver by Julia Gilpin, the wife of William Gilpin, the territorial governor of Colorado), and invariably, many knew her as a saintly woman. But how did she sustain herself psychologically in this precarious world, where she had no skills outside of cooking, cleaning, and caring for children? Well, we know she was a joyful woman. My sense is that she created joy because she understood that the greatest dignity we have as human beings is to praise God. 

Your Eminence, promoting the dignity of each woman is a core value of the Julia Greeley Home. Would you speak to that?

This is an enormous challenge, working with women who are undergoing an experience like homelessness. They have a great obstacle to overcome. It would be interesting to ask every woman who comes to you at the Julia Greeley Home: "Would you be willing to get up every morning and say, 'Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise'"? At first, they will say - 'What's that about?' But the greatest dignity of woman and man comes from the ability to praise God. Through the Holy Spirit, Julia came to understand that, because God was everywhere in her life. Like Julia, the women you serve can experience God working in their lives. He is the source of all human dignity. So, let the women whom you serve know that God is suffering with them. Let them know they are made in the image and likeness of their Creator and Redeemer. Let everyone shout in the morning the words of the 50th Psalm, "Oh Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise." And I will certainly be praying for them!"