Free Sidney Event to Highlight Life and Legacy of Julia Greeley

SIDNEY — Area residents are invited to learn more about the life and legacy of Julia Greeley during a free event Sunday, August 23, at Lehman High School in Sidney.

“The Sacred Heart and Julia Greeley: Stories of God’s Grace through a Freed Slave” will be held from noon until 2 p.m. at Lehman High School, 2400 St. Marys Avenue.

The event is sponsored by the Catholic Social Action Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and is free to attend.

The afternoon will begin with lunch, followed by reflections on Greeley’s life and presentations from local speakers, including students.

Greeley, who lived from the 1800s until her death in 1918, was born into slavery and later gained her freedom. A Catholic convert and philanthropist, she became known as Denver’s “Angel of Charity” because of her efforts to help families living in poverty.

Her cause for beatification was opened by Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila in 2016.

Greeley is one of a group known as the Saintly Seven — African Americans recognized by the Catholic Church for heroic virtue who are on the path toward sainthood.

The group also includes Pierre Toussaint, Mother Mary Lange, Mother Henriette Delille, Father Augustus Tolton, Sister Thea Bowman and Friar Martin Maria de Porres Ward.

Those planning to attend Sunday’s free event are asked to RSVP by emailing jfoster@catholicaoc.org.