The first articles appeared in the Register, the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post in 1918, after Greeley died at the approximate age of 85—Greeley herself said she didn’t know how old she was—on the feast of the Sacred Heart on June 7.
The articles describe a flow of people—poor and rich alike—who came to view her body that lay in a coffin for five hours at Loyola Chapel, now the Evangelist Temple Church of God in Christ, at 2536 Ogden St.
The Register article published two days after her funeral reads, “Highest Honor Ever Paid to Dead Laic Here Goes to Negress.”
Greeley’s funeral was held at Sacred Heart Church, 2760 Larimer St., where she sat in the front left pew daily. She was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge.
Father Burkey said he began a more earnest search for facts about her life in April and discovered records of a court case when Greeley’s character was put into question. She was stuck in a divorce case that arose between her former employer Julie Gilpin, whom Greeley testified for, who was the wife of Colorado’s first territorial governor, William Gilpin.
William Gilpin accused Greeley of being “a lewd and unprincipled woman that badly influenced his children,” which was one reason why he said he needed a divorce from Julie Gilpin. Greeley took the stand to defend her character and about six people testified in her favor, Father Burkey said.
“Moreover, when grilled by Mrs. Gilpin’s defense attorneys, Col. Gilpin was unable to justify his charge against Greeley,” Father Burkey said.
“This case isn’t spiritually revealing except these six to seven witnesses said she was totally reliable,” he continued. “That’s something in her favor that she remained such a magnanimous women herself and was helping other people despite the way she had been treated.”
William Gilpin’s testimony contradicts records and articles written about Greeley that spoke of her charity to the poorest of poor. She was often seen carrying firewood, clothes or food down alleyways to someone in need. She begged for dresses from wealthy women and restored them for working class girls so they would be able to attend church or go to a social gathering. She also passed out Catholic literature to firemen, especially leaflets about the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which she became an apostle for after entering the Church in 1880, the same year she appeared on the U.S. Census for Denver.
Her charity and devotion extended to the point when she reportedly gave her own burial plot to a destitute man and participated in 40 hours of devotion, kneeling motionless and absorbed in adoration of the Eucharist.
Overall, Greeley stands as an example of how ordinary people can become saints, Leisring said.
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“When looking at her, (we see) she was an ordinary person who did extraordinary things,” Leisring said. “All of us have that same opportunity.”
Printed with permission from the Denver Catholic Register.