An image of Servant of God Julia Greeley in a parish. / Credit: Screenshot/Colorado Capuchin FranciscansCNA Staff, Jul 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).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. Aft...
An image of Servant of God Julia Greeley in a parish. / Credit: Screenshot/Colorado Capuchin Franciscans
CNA Staff, Jul 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
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.
Father Blaine Burkey, OFM Cap, who wrote a book on Servant of God Julia Greeley's life. Credit: Screenshot/Colorado Capuchin Franciscans
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.
Pope Leo XIV greets residents of St. Martha Home for the Elderly in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, during a visit on July 21, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Jul 21, 2025 / 15:12 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Monday morning visited St. Martha Home for the Elderly in Castel Gandolfo, the Italian town where he is spending his vacation.According to the Holy See Press Office, the pontiff arrived at the residence on July 20 at 10:30 a.m. local time and was welcomed by the community of nuns who run the facility.The Sisters of St. Martha religious order was founded in 1946 by Blessed Tommaso Reggio. The sisters aim to be "humble presences of peace and hope" for those most in need and to pay "the utmost attention to the quality of relationships and the well-being" of the nursing home's residents, according to the order's website.After spending time praying in the chapel, the Holy Father personally greeted approximately 20 elderly people, all between the ages of 80 and 101.Pope Leo X...
Catholic images and crucifixes fill the walls in Times Square Tattoo. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Tommy HoulihanCNA Staff, Jul 21, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).In the heart of New York City, nestled among the tall buildings of Times Square, sits a small tattoo shop with two 17-inch signs of the Miraculous Medal hanging outside the front door. Inside, walls of rosaries, crucifixes, and religious images greet visitors, while an old church pew serves as a place to sit and wait. A glass jar filled with blessed Miraculous Medals sits on the front desk. The tattoo parlor, Times Square Tattoo, is more than a tattoo parlor, according to owner Tommy Houlihan, who has a deep devotion to the Miraculous Medal and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The 55-year-old told CNA that he views his shop as a "ministry for the Miraculous Medal."Houlihan has been a tattoo artist since 1990. He grew up in a Catholic household in Hell's Kitchen, a neighborhood on the west side of midtown Manhattan, and by the age ...
Pope Leo XIV speaks by video call with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and his wife Anca Faur, from Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on July 20, 2025. / Credit: Holy See Press OfficeRome Newsroom, Jul 21, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with a video call to U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin and a visit to the Vatican Observatory, located on the papal estate of Castel Gandolfo, where he has been staying for two weeks.According to the Vatican, the pontiff's July 20 call with the 95-year-old Buzz Aldrin, the last surviving Apollo 11 crew member, included reminiscing on the historic 1969 landing and meditating together on the "mystery, greatness, and fragility" of God's creation as described in Psalm 8.Earlier in the day, Leo visited the Vatican's internationally-recognized observatory, called the Specola Vaticana, where he was able to look through the astronomical center's historic telescopes.The Vatican Observatory has been located on...
An image of Servant of God Julia Greeley in a parish. / Credit: Screenshot/Colorado Capuchin Franciscans
