Missouri native Julia Greeley’s joy inspires artist’s smiling painting

Who would have thought that Denver’s “Angel of Charity” would make it all the way to Europe?

While her little red wagon might not have crossed the Atlantic, the life, witness and example of Servant of God Julia Greeley has continued to inspire people all over the world.

Such was the case for Ruben Ferreira, a Portuguese Catholic artist living in London.

Mr. Ferreira met Julia in his continued efforts to “find the immense richness of knowing lesser-known saints worldwide that are so modern, diverse and contemporary,” he told the Denver Catholic, official publication of the Archdiocese of Denver, Colorado.

Upon meeting her, Mr. Ferreira said he knew he had to share Julia’s story with the world.

“After I read the story of Julia Greeley,” said Mr. Ferreira, “I was moved by her humility and simplicity in the midst of such a dramatic life. The world seems to show us that discrimination and hate are valid options, but Julia shows us the opposite.

“She shows us tolerance, humble service, joy, and faith in action that doesn’t have time to hate or judge others,” Mr. Ferreira stated. “Julia didn’t seek the first place, to be seen or popular. Julia Greeley shows us what God’s Love is.”

The Missouri native, born into an enslaved family near Hannibal before the Civil War, is one of six African American Catholics currently under formal consideration for being declared a saint.

One of the others is Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, the Roman Catholic Church’s first recognizably Black priest in the United States, who was also born in part of what is now the Jefferson City diocese.

Compassionate and deeply spiritual, Miss Greeley was known even in her lifetime as an Angel of Charity.

Her self-effacing kindness, missionary zeal and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus emblazoned her memory onto the minds of people who encountered her in Colorado, where she spent most of her adult life.

She was blind in one eye due to the harsh treatment she had received while enslaved. Her body bore the ravages of excessive, menial work.

She never earned much money as a housekeeper, even to a Colorado governor and his family.

But as a Catholic convert, member of Sacred Heart Parish in Denver and a professed member of the Secular Order of St. Francis, she held nothing back in helping people who were worse off than she was.

She was renowned for her devout faith and her tireless, quiet service to the poor, to whom she regularly brought food, clothing and other goods in her little red wagon.

When she ran out of her own money to give away, she begged for more.

She worked in darkness and secret, in deference to the dignity of the people she was helping.

The outpouring of grief and devotion at the time of her death in 1918 revealed the bond God had forged between “Beloved Julia” and the many she had ministered to.

The Denver archdiocese opened a sainthood cause for her in 2016.

The following year, her earthly remains were moved to a new marble sarcophagus built for her in the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver.

After getting to know his new heavenly friend, reading about her, and reflecting on the only existing photo of Julia, Mr. Ferreira said he was struck by her joy.

“I knew one thing: I had to do Julia smiling, full of joy, that joy that she felt from being unconditionally loved by God,” he stated.

“And when people started seeing her face with a joyful smile, people got curious, wanting to know more,” he said. “After all, no one wants to follow unhappy people!”

Joy radiates from Mr. Ferreira’s smiling depiction of Julia, which also shows her hard at work, carrying a full grocery bag.

“Bringing that simple element to the painting indicates that even saints have to go shopping and that we are called to see God in all things,” Mr. Ferreira explained.

“I must put as much effort into painting a grocery bag as the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” he said. “God asks us to put love in the ordinary things of our lives in an extraordinary way. Always love in everything we do.”

It is the deep love that Julia Greeley exemplified in her life and works from which we can all learn, Mr. Ferreira said.

“Julia showed us that we are called to live in the present moment and love everyone unconditionally,” he noted. “Julia shows us that love prevails and is above everything else.

“Love generates love, and we can only love by serving our brothers and sisters in this broken world,” Mr. Ferreira continued. “Julia shows us that God is far bigger than our pasts and struggles, and he’s always calling us to follow him.”

To learn more about Mr. Ferreira’s mission to spread the Gospel through art, visit rubenferreiraart.com.

Mr. Escaleira is the Digital & Social Media Manager for the Archdiocese of Denver. A version of this article was published in the Sept. 17, 2023, edition of the Denver Catholic (https://denvercatholic.org/). This article and the artwork are republished here with permission.