By André Escaleira, Jr., & Neil McDonough
As the nation paused to celebrate freedom Wednesday, local Black Catholics gathered in prayer and community in the shadow of Denver’s “Angel of Charity,” Servant of God Julia Greeley.
The first-ever Juneteenth Freedom Day Mass brought faithful together at Sacred Heart Parish in Denver – the parish home of Servant of God Julia Greeley. Coming from all over the archdiocese, with some traveling from as far as Broomfield and Golden, dozens joined the prayerful festivities.
Sponsored by the Office of Black Catholic Ministry at the Archdiocese of Denver, the Mass and reception aimed to commemorate the holiday and bring about greater unity and community in the Catholic community.
“My hope is that by celebrating the culture and history of a specific segment of our Catholic community, it will unite and strengthen our entire faith community as the body of Christ,” said Kateri Joda Williams, the ministry’s director who planned the events.
“I feel joy just being able to see everybody from all different backgrounds and races. I thought it was a lot of fun,” shared Inez, part of Miles Christi at St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Denver.
“I’m in such high spirits today. I thank God for everything; it was so wonderful,” said Bridget Agwu, a Lady of St. Peter Claver present for the day’s events. “We came today to join in unity and to pray together because of Juneteenth. Today, 100 years ago, we remember this day and pray together.”
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Knights and Ladies of St. Peter Claver prepare for Mass at Sacred Heart Parish in Denver on Wednesday. (Photo by Neil McDonough)
Kateri Joda Williams, director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministry at the Archdiocese of Denver, welcomes those gathered for the first-ever Juneteenth Freedom Day Mass at Sacred Heart Parish in Denver. (Photo by Neil McDonough)
Deacon Clarence McDavid proclaims the Gospel during Mass on Juneteenth. (Photo by Neil McDonough)
Father Eric Zegeer, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Denver, preaches during the Juneteenth Freedom Day Mass at Sacred Heart Parish in Denver. (Photo by Neil McDonough)
Sacred Heart Parish in Denver was the parish home of Servant of God Julia Greeley, herself a freed slave. (Photo by Neil McDonough)
Faithful from around the Denver metro gathered in prayer, worship and community Wednesday, with some traveling from as far as Golden or Broomfield. (Photo by Neil McDonough)
Dozens came together to celebrate the newest federal holiday in prayer and community. (Photo by Neil McDonough)
Servant of God Julia Greeley is one of six African American individuals whose causes for canonization are open in the United States. (Photo by Neil McDonough)
The newest federal holiday celebrates the day on which the last slaves in Texas heard the news of the Emancipation Proclamation, which ostensibly outlawed slavery two whole years prior. Though illegal for two years, the practice continued in many parts of the country until the proclamation was made on June 19, 1865, in Texas.
“Juneteenth is a very important holiday,” Deacon Clarence McDavid told the Denver Catholic. “We’re talking about emancipation, freedom. Yet, we realize that they still didn’t have that freedom until it was declared. We would not think about where we would be if that had not been declared.”
Indeed, remembering the two long years it took for word of the Emancipation Proclamation and the freedom it ensured to spread is no easy task. One must also remember the added, unnecessary, evil suffering inflicted in that time until liberty was proclaimed to all people.
“As we celebrate Juneteenth, it’s not just the fact that for two long years, countless number of Black Americans endured slavery after it was declared illegal by the president,” Father Eric Zegeer, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Denver, said in his homily. “God only knows how many people died in those two years, how many lost homes and became sick, how much had happened in those two years until they were finally told and allowed to be free.”
Juneteenth not only honors the transformative moment of freedom’s declaration but also acknowledges the work that remains to be done, Father Zegeer and Deacon McDavid said.
“Juneteenth is much more than that because the experience of freedom has come in bits and pieces. It continues to take years to experience justice and equality long after the Emancipation Proclamation,” Father Zegeer said.
“We do have to pray for justice in our world today,” Deacon McDavid added, remembering the Civil Rights Movement he lived through and looking towards the future. “The truth of the matter is that we haven’t ‘made it,’ and I don’t know when we will be able to say that we have ‘made it.’ We have to never stop. We have to always move forward and always say we’re not done yet, because once we stop, then that’s when things like racism, hatred and all those things become prevalent again.”
Indeed, those gathered had much to celebrate and pray for, and they couldn’t help but feel connected to a dear heavenly friend, Servant of God Julia Greeley, herself a freed slave who encountered great discrimination in her lifetime.
“I wonder what Julia Greeley would think or feel walking into the church today and not being the only black Catholic in the pew, to see so many of her brothers and sisters among her,” Father Zegeer said, reflecting on the importance of our universal, catholic Church and her welcome of all races, cultures, languages and times. “Would she be shocked; would she be happy; would she be brought to tears? Would she feel more at home than ever before?”
The faithful witness of Denver’s Angel of Charity permeated the celebration, inviting attendees to a greater closeness to Jesus, who loves them deeply, and through him, to a deeper community with God’s children.
In the hope-filled spirit of that unity, attendees prayed with Julia for greater peace and justice in our world today.
“In the secret and quiet of this church, in a big, bustling city where few people know that we’re even here, we pray in secret to the Father, knowing that he can do all things in Christ. We can do all things in Christ who strengthens us,” Father Zegeer said in his homily, referencing Wednesday’s Gospel reading.
Wednesday’s festivities were a foretaste of the Kingdom of God, Father Zegeer noted, as people from across the metro area came together in prayer, worship and unity.
“I think it’s really important for everyone of every race and culture to feel welcomed and that we can truly be what we’re meant to be: a universal church where every race, culture, creed, as the prayers of the Mass say, are united and welcomed and in peace and showing the world what Heaven can look like. People of every race, culture, tongue and time, united in the love of Christ and for one another. And that’s really our goal, to be the kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven, as we pray,” he concluded.