* December 8^th: Receives his First Communion.

* 1941 August: Enters the Minor Seminary of An Ninh at thirteen age.

* June 12^nd, 1952: Ordained deacon.

* June 11^st, 1953: Ordained as a priest by Bishop Jean-Baptiste Urrutia of the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) and sent as vice-pastor of the large parish of Tam Toa, Chi Xa Dong Hoi, Thinh Quang Binh.

* December 1953: Becomes seriously ill with tuberculosis.

* October 11^st, 1956: Begins study of Canon Law at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome and resides at the Pontifical College of St. Peter Apostle in Rome.

* 1957: August: Visits the Sanctuary of Lourdes for the first time.

* 1958: Travels to Germany to learn the German language and culture, during the Summer holidays. Serves as chaplain to the Celletinen religious community in Cologne.

*  Visits the Sanctuary of Lourdes for the second time.

* June 6^th, 1959: Recives a doctorate in Canon Law with Summa cum laude distinction for the thesis: Étude comparative de l’organisation des aumôneries militaires dans le monde.

*  Visits Ireland, France (Lourdes), Portugal (Fatima), Canada and the United States of America before returning to Vietnam.

*  Nominated to became a Professor upon his return to Vietnam.

* May 27^th, 1964: Appointed Vicar General of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Huê.

* August 12^nd, 1966: Makes a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang with university students, where he receives the inspiration to found the Community of "La Vang".

* June 2^nd, 1968: On Pentecost promulgates the Guidelines for the Parish Committee, which begins its activities on August 15^th of the same year.

* October 11^st, 1968: Received in audience by the Holy Father Paul VI.

*    Writes the First Pastoral Letter entitled Watch and Pray.

*    Founds the Cultural Center for Cham ethnic minorities and entrusts its administration to the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

*    Invites the Emmanuel Movement, the Community of St. Egidio and the Charismatic Movement to the diocese of Nha Trang.

* April 11^st, 1969: Becomes a founding member of Radio Veritas Asia and participates in the inauguration in Manila, Philippines.

*    Writes the Second Pastoral Letter entitled Be strong in the faith, progress in the peace.

*    Creates the “Justice and Peace” Movement in the diocese of Nha Trang

*    Participates in the 13^th Cursillos at the Manila Clergy House. Founds the Cursillos Movement in the diocese of Nha Trang. Launches the Focolare Movement.

* April 23^_rd: Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Saigon by Holy Fater Paul VI.

* May 7^_th: Transfers from the Nha Trang Diocese to the Saigon Archdiocese.

* March 19^th: Is transferred to the prison camp of Phù Khánh, Nha Trang on the feast of St Joseph.

* November 29^th: Transferred to the Thu Duc camp, North of Ho Chi Minh City.

* December 1^st: Is chained to another prisoner a non-Catholic government official noted to be a Buddhist fundamentalist. Travel by ship with 1,500 other prisoners to the port of Haiphong and is taken to the Ving Quang rehabilitation centre at the foot of Mount Tam Dao, in the village of Dao Trù, Lap Thach, Vinh Phú province of North Vietnam.

* October 17^th, 1982: While is in Giang Xâ prison, writes the book entitled “Message of Father Maximilian Kolbe”.

* November 5^th, 1982: Is transferred to an apartment reserved for Hanoi's security agents located at 23 Hoa Ma Street, Hanoi.

* November 5^th, 1985: Is transferred twice, first to Hanoi prison and then to another prison in Hanoi, under solitary confinement.

* March28^th: Travels to Sydney, Australia, to visit his parents and relatives for three weeks. During this time he visits the Australian bishops and priests who had helped his family and worked to promote his liberation.

* April: Arrives in Rome from Sydney, Australia.

* April: Calls the Mother House of Cellitinenn Sisters to inform them of his release.

* April 17^th: Interviewed by Vatican Radio on the theme: Prospects for the Church in Vietnam in the current political phase of the Renewal, while is in Rome.

* July 4^th: Is received in private Audience from Holy Father, John Paul II, before returning to Vietnam.

* December: Diagnosed with a prostate tumour and admitted to the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi for surgery.

* March: Returns to Hanoi upon recovery from surgery.

* April to November: Dedicated the majority of his time to helping the lepers of Vietnam.

* November: Expelled from Vietnam as a persona non grata.

* Appointed a member of the  International Catholic Commission for Migration, in Geneva.

* January 1992: Accepts the position of spiritual counsellor of the “Les Amis de Van” Association.

* April 23^rd, 1992: Receives the Holy Father’s Apostolic Blessing on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

* March 22^nd, 1993: Appointed Consultor of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

* July 1^st, 1993: Travels to Sydney to celebrate the funeral mass of his father.

* March 15^th, 1995: Appointed Postulator of the Cause of Beatification of Marcel Van.

* Participates in the Annual Marian Congress of the Vietnamese Communities present in North America, in Carthage -Missouri, U.S.A. with the lecture The Spirituality of Hope for Young People - The Vocation of Married Life.

* May 11^st, 1996: Receives an “Honoris Causa” degree in Letters from Notre Dame Seminary - School of Theology, New Orleans (Louisiana, U.S.A.).

* June 21^st: Presents a reflection on the situation of the Church in the world and in Vietnam to priest and laity in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A

* August: Participates in the Annual Marian Congress of the Vietnamese Communities present in North America, in Carthage -Missouri, U.S.A with the theme The parents’ role.

* May 1997: Preaches the Spiritual Exercises to bishops, priests and lay people in Mexico.

* January 12^nd: Writes an article for the Lateran University entitled, “Fatherhood of God and City of Man: Power and Service”.

* February 11^st: Participates in the Consultation on Human Promotion and Human Rights in the Third Millennium in Pattaya City, Thailand and presents “The role of the Universal Church in promoting the Pastoral Care of Human Rights”.

* March 19^th: Sends a letter to the Community of Our Lady of La Vang where he presents the Message of Our Lady and the rules to be observed by the members of the Community in Reichstett, France.

* June 1^st: Sent to the Balkans, formerly Yugoslavia as representative by the Holy Father John II.

* June 3^rd: On the Feast of Corpus Christi, delivers the Holy Father’s message, celebrates Holy Mass and prays for peace in the Balkan region.

* June 9^th: Appointed Commander of the National Order of Merit of the French Embassy to the Holy See, in Rome.

* In his role as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, promotes the publication of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

* June 26-30^th: Preaches the Spiritual Exercises and participates in a seminar on the Social Teaching of the Church in Accra, Ghana.

* August 5^th: Participates in the 30^th International Meeting of the Clergy and presents “The Will of the Father” in Maternushaus Cologne, Germany.

* August 20^th: Travels to Harare, Zimbabwe to promote the teaching of the Social Doctrine of the Church in the local churches.

* October 9^th: Writes the lecture “Human Dignity and Religious Freedom” LUMSA (Libera Università Maria Ss. Assunta), Rome.

* October 25-29^th: Participates in the First Mexican Social Week, and presents the lecture “The Church in the construction of a global culture of solidarity”.

* November 14-16^th: Participates in the International Conference of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland.

* Nov 30- Dec 5^th: Participates in the preparation of an Oceania Regional Seminar on the Teaching of the Social Doctrine of the Church that would be held in May 2000 in Australia. On his return, stops in Malaysia to participate in the meeting of the “Justice and Peace” Commissions.

* December 5^th: Invited by Pope John Paul II to preach the Spiritual Exercises of Lent 2000 to the Roman Curia.

* January 21^st: Appointed Cardinal.

* January 30^th: Speaks at the National Labour Conference in Rome with the address, “The Future of Work”.

* February 21^st: Created Cardinal. Receives the title of Deacon of the Church of Santa Maria della Scala, Rome

* April: Travels to Boston to undergo surgery at Saint-Elizabeth Seaton Clinic. U.S.A.

* July 17^th: Receives the Vatican citizenship.

* Sep 30 –Oct 27^th: Participates in the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, and presentes a speech entitled, “The Bishop, servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and hope of the world”, Vatican City.

* October 5-7^th: Participates in the Eucharistic Congress 2000, in Washington D.C., U.S.A.

* November 1-5^th: Visits Chiapas (San Cristóbal de las Casas), Mexico.

* Preaches a retreat for the youth of Monterrey, Mexico.

* November 5-9^th: Preaches the Fourth International Retreat for Bishops and Priests, Monterrey, Mexico.

* November 10-15^th: Preaches a cycle of Spiritual Exercises in Boston, U.S.A.

* December 9^th: Awarded the Peace Prize 2001 by the G. Donati Study Centre, Pistoia, Italy.

* December 11^st: Presents the Holy Father’s Message for the 2002 World Day of Peace: “There is no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness”.

* December13^rd: Participates in the Meeting on the future of Christians in the Holy Land, Vatican City.

* May 3^rd: Participates in the Justice and Peace conference, “Civitas”, Padua.

* May 8^th: Operated on at the National Institute of Tumours, Milan.

* June 5^th: Admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Hospital, Rome.

* July 14^th: Transfers to the Pius XI Clinic, Rome.

* July 22^nd: Receives the Anointing of the Sick and writes his last desires before undergoing another surgical operation.

* September 16^th: Dies in the Pius XI Clinic at 6 p.m. Rome, Italy.

2009

* January 16^th 2009: EDICT of the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân is published.

2010

* October 22^nd 2010: In presence of His Eminence Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Session of the Public Opening of the Diocesan Process of Beatification and Canonization at the Tribunal of the Vicariate of Rome begins.

* July 5^th: Closing session of the diocesan process in the Vicariate of Rome, which included:

* The Solemn Eucharistic Celebration in the Basilica of St. Anthony.

* Presentation of the volume of the Pastoral Letters that Mgr. Van Thuân wrote to the faithful of the diocese of Nha Trang and concluded with a musical concert.

* July 6^th: The Holy Father Francis receives in audience the group of participants at the ceremony and activities organised for the occasion.