'Witnesses of Mercy in the Americas' symposium explores models of mercy

(Vatican Radio)  During the final two months of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, initiatives to promote the faith are intensifying, often drawing on the lives of holy men and women as examples of virtue and mercy.

One such initiative is the ‘Witnesses of Mercy in the Americas’ Symposium, organized by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the US Archdiocese of Denver in Colorado.

The Symposium held in Rome on Sept. 24 reflected on some lesser-known witnesses to the faith, including Venerable Fr. Michael McGivney, Fr. Eusebio Kino, Fr. Antonio Margil de Jesús, as well as Denver’s Julia Greeley.

Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver spoke to Vatican Radio's Mercedes De La Torre about how these ‘normal people’ can provide an uncommon light for the world.

Listen to the full interview:

Speaking about the Symposium, Archbishop Aquila said the aim was to "recognize very normal people who had lived lives of mercy, who had responded to the call of mercy".

Missionaries of Mercy

The four 'missionaries of mercy' each served the poor of America in their own way.

Recalling Fathers Kino and Margil, Archbishop Aquila said: "Both of them were early missionaries within the [American] Church. They left everything and gave their lives for Christ."

"Fr. McGivney," he said, "worked with people, especially with families, and reaching out with them established the Knights of Colombus. [He] did works of mercy for many of the families."

Witness close to home

The fourth witness, Julia Greeley, known as 'Denver's Angel of Charity', was born into slavery in Missouri, sometime between 1833 and 1848. After being freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, she earned a living as a servant, mostly in Denver, Colorado.

Archbishop Aquila said, "She was very poor, but she was a great witness to mercy in her devotion to the Sacred Heart, but also in her devotion to feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and walking the streets of Denver, carrying for poor people."

"All four missionaries of mercy represent that encounter with the mercy of Jesus Christ and what he offers for us when we respond to that call to be merciful as the Father is merciful."