Jan. 3, 1840: Joseph De Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, the son of well-to-do farmers.

Fall 1847: Started school. After six years. he quit to work on his father's farm.

January 1859: Entered the Sacred Hearts Congregation at Louvain as a postulant.

October 1863: His brother, Father Pamphile, who'd been ordered to join the Sacred Hearts Mission in Hawai'i, got typhus. Joseph begged to be allowed to take his place. Permission granted, he set sail from Bremerhaven.

March 19, 1864: The R.M. Wood rounded Diamond Head, and he got his first glimpse of Honolulu.

May 21, 1864: Ordained as Father Damien in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace here. Shortly after, was sent to Puna on the Big Island, with no churches or schools. He was transferred to other Big Island districts and later to Maui.

May 10, 1873: Came to Moloka'i with Bishop Maigret after 200 Catholics presented a petition asking for a resident priest. Two days later, he asked to stay. He received permission to stay as long as his devotion dictated.

Sept. 1, 1873: Was reprimanded for visiting Catholics in areas outside the settlement and was asked not to embarrass the Board of Health by disregarding the ordinance that forbade communication with those outside. By the end of 1875, he had built or was building six chapels.

1877: The Board of Health, at Damien's request, furnished him with materials to erect a home for boys and later a home for girls.

Sept. 15, 1881: Princess Lili'uokalani visited the settlement and wept openly, unable to deliver her planned address. Back in Honolulu, she wrote asking Damien to accept the Order of the Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalakaua in recognition of his "efforts in alleviating the distresses and mitigating the sorrows of the unfortunate."

Christmas 1882: Wrote, "At 11 o'clock ... the bells rings. Our young people go through the village beating two drums, waking everyone up and shouting, 'Merry Christmas!' ... This is the 10th time we have had midnight Mass. The first years we had some disorders, but now the people are more civilized and everything went off well."

December 1884: Soaking his feet in extremely hot water, he felt nothing. A few days later, Dr. Arming in Hono-lulu told Damien his illness was leprosy.

1886: Found two sources that could supply the leprosarium with water. The board advanced credit of $35,000 and the installation began.

March 31, 1889: Growing worse, he said, "I have seen too many lepers die to be deceived. The Lord is calling me to celebrate Easter with him."

April 2, 1889: Received last rites and died 13 days later. He was buried in the shade of the puhala tree under which, 16 years earlier, he had spent his first night on Moloka'i.

December 1894: A bronze monument to "Father Damien, Apostle of the Lepers" was erected in Louvain, Belgium.

Early 1936: Belgium asked that his body be sent there; he was exhumed. As the plane departed, those in the settlement sang "Aloha 'Oe" and wept. Solemn ceremonies were held in Honolulu; the U.S. Army gave him a hero's departure with bombers flying overhead. During a stopover in San Francisco, Archbishop John J. Mitty was allowed to have the body taken to St. Mary's Cathedral.

May 3, 1936: The cannons of Antwerp boomed, bells began to peal and King Leopold III welcomed him back. A hearse drawn by white horses set out for Tremelo.

1955: The Cause of Father Damien was formally introduced to seek sainthood.

1969: The Damien statue was unveiled in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

July 7, 1977: Damien was declared "venerable" by Pope Paul VI.

June 13, 1992: Pope John Paul II approved him for beatification, based on the miraculous cure of a Sacred Hearts sister.

June 4, 1995: Damien was beatified.

July 22, 1995: A relic (Damien's right hand) was given at the beatification ceremony to the congregation and reinterred at Kalawao.

2008: A second miracle, the spontaneous disappearance of tumors from Audrey Toguchi, was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI, assuring that the priest will become St. Damien.

Oct. 11, 2009: Damien will be canonized.

Source: Fathers of the Sacred Hearts