Key dates leading to the upcoming canonization of Father Damien, a Roman Catholic priest famous for helping leprosy patients at an isolated colony in Hawaii until his own death from the disease:
_ May 10, 1873: Damien _ born in 1840 as Joseph de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium _ arrives on the island of Molokai to minister to leprosy patients on remote Kalaupapa Peninsula.
_ April 15, 1889: Damien dies of leprosy at age 49.
_ 1895: A French nun, dying of a gastrointestinal illness, recovers overnight after praying to Damien. Vatican approves the case in 1992 as first miracle attributed to Damien's intercession.
_ 1995: Pope John Paul II declares Damien "blessed."
_ Sept. 17, 1997: Audrey Toguchi, feeling ill and not knowing she has cancer, visits Kalaupapa and prays to Damien to help her.
_ December 1997: Toguchi is diagnosed with liposarcoma, an uncommon tumor that arises in fat cells.
_ Jan. 9, 1998: Fist-size tumor removed from Toguchi's left hip area.
_ Sept. 1998: Three growths found in Toguchi's lungs. Toguchi refuses chemotherapy and instead visits Kalaupapa again to pray for Damien's help.
_ Oct. 2, 1998: X-ray shows a decrease in the size of growths in lungs.
_ May 1999: X-ray and CT scan of chest show cancer has disappeared.
_ July 3, 2008: Pope Benedict XVI approves Toguchi's case as second miracle, opening way for Damien to be declared a saint.
_ Canonization expected in early 2009.
