Jan. 27, 1842 - Joseph Dabrowski is born in Zoltance, Poland, the son of Jozef Teodor Konstanty Dabrowski, 32, a civil engineer and a landowner of the village of Przysieki, living in Zoltance, and Karolina (of the Borucki family), 22.

Feb. 14, 1842 - Joseph Dabrowski is baptized with the given name, Jan Jozef Henryk. Despite the first three names, Dabrowski consistently used "Joseph." The godparents were Ignacy Zubrzycki and Jozefa Borucka. The baptism was performed at Holy Apostles Church in Chelm by the pastor, Rev. Tomasz Niebrzydowski.

1854 - Joseph Dabrowski's father dies. Joseph is 12 years old, the oldest of five children. (The others: Amelia Celestyna 1843-1899, Helena Maria 1846-1910, Jan Benjamin Wladyslaw 1848-1913, Felix, who died in infancy, date unknown). Joseph's mother moves the family to Lublin.

1862 - Dabrowski enters the University of Warsaw, where he specializes in mathematics and natural science.

1863 - The Polish Insurrection breaks out; Dabrowski joins a regiment composed of faculty and students from the university. Gen. Mieroslawski places him in command of 100 men.

1864 - Following the failure of the Insurrection and narrowly escaping capture, Dabrowski re-enters the University of Warsaw. When his identity becomes known to the Russians, he flees to Prussia, then Switzerland, where he completes his studies in technology and math.

March 25, 1866 - He was one of the first six candidates to enter Collegium Polonicum in Rome, established by Pope Pius IX for the education of Poles for the priesthood.

August 8, 1869 - Joseph Dabrowski is ordained a priest. Of this event, he writes: "I was now a priest of God; I had reached the aim of my life. But I was a priest without a country, without a parish and without prospects of ever getting one."

December 1869 - He accepts an invitation from Bishop Joseph Melcher, the first ordinary of the Diocese of Green Bay, to come to the United States to work among Polish immigrants in Wisconsin. Before he leaves, he meets with his mother and youngest brother in Krakow, and has an audience with Pope Pius IX, who imparts upon him his papal blessing.

Dec. 31, 1869 - Fr. Dabrowski arrives in America.

1870 - Bishop Melcher assigns him to St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, where he spends several months learning English, and as assistant pastor of St. Stanislaus Church before his assignment to Poland Corner in central Wisconsin as pastor of St. Joseph's Parish, where he remained for nearly 13 years. The presence of a priest preaching temperance riled the tavern owners in the village, forcing Fr. Dabrowski and the parishioners to dismantle the wooden church and move it two miles away to Polonia. A rectory is also built on the new site.

1871 - Fr. Dabrowski remodels his rectory into a temporary classroom and opens the Sacred Heart School for all children in the area, including the Indians in Polonia, the first school of its kind. Fr. Dabrowski also engaged in missionary work among the Indians. He learned the Chippewa dialect and compiled a Chippewa-Polish dictionary. About 200 Indians were converted to the Catholic faith.

1871-1872 - The tavern owners of Poland Corner, furious over the move of the church location because of its negative effect upon their revenue, sue Fr. Dabrowski in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. The Court not only exonerates Fr. Dabrowski, but praises his missionary work.

July 13, 1872 - St. Albertus Church is dedicated in Detroit, the first Polish American church in the city. A school and rectory are also dedicated.

1873 - Fr. Dabrowski opens a printing shop. A Polish calendar, containing reminiscences of Poland and lives of the saints, is the first printed item. The print shop was destroyed in the fire of 1875 and rebuilt. He compiled and printed the first Polish reader. A geography text followed in 1879 and an arithmetic text in 1880. He also wrote and published a book on farming techniques.

Nov. 20, 1874 - Fr. Dabrowski welcomes five Felician Sisters from Poland to Polonia to teach in the school. A new school, convent and orphanage are built.

May 18, 1875 - Fire destroys the Felician Sisters convent and the church. Enemies of Fr. Dabrowski are suspected of arson. Both structures are rebuilt. Several times, Fr. Dabrowski miraculously escapes attempts made on his life. Twice the buildings were almost leveled to the ground, but each time the edifices were rebuilt.

Jan. 29, 1878 - Fr. Dabrowski becomes a citizen of the United States.

Jan. 14, 1879 - Pope Leo XIII approves a plan to build a Polish seminary in the U. S. Fr. Leopold Moczygemba, in a letter to the pope, seeks permission "to spend for that purpose (of building a seminary) all the alms which he now possesses and all that which he will have in the future."

Dec. 17, 1879 - The Felician Sisters begin their teaching career in Detroit, at St. Albertus parish.

June 1880 - Fr. Moczygemba purchases 350 acres for $1,900 in Nebraska as the site for a Polish seminary.

1881 - Bishop Casper Borgess, of Detroit, welcomes the Felician Sisters. A convent is built at the corner of St. Aubin and Freemont (now Canfield) streets.

1882 - The 13 years spent in hard work, together with the severe Wisconsin climate, played havoc with Fr. Dabrowski's health. Bishop Krautbauer, of Green Bay, sends him to Hot Springs, Ark., to recuperate. He spends two months there and returns to Polonia. Bishop Krautbauer appoints Fr. Dabrowski chaplain of the Felician Motherhouse in Detroit, releasing him from his jurisdiction to Bishop Casper Borgess, of Detroit, who accepts him under his jurisdiction.

September 1882 - The Felician Sisters move their headquarters from Polonia to Detroit. The convent in Wisconsin is converted to an orphanage for boys, while the girls are transferred to Detroit.

Oct. 4, 1882 - The motherhouse, novitiate and Seminary of the Felician Sisters (later known as Felician Academy) are dedicated. Fr. Dabrowski had supervised the construction. A rectory is built for him in the sisters' courtyard. He maintains a physics and mechanical lab on the first floor, devoting his time to new experiments. He also spends time beautifying the grounds, planting trees, shrubs and flowers.

Feb. 21, 1884 - Fr. Dabrowski sends a letter to Bishop Borgess asking for permission to build a college-seminary "for the education of young Poles to the priesthood." Bishop Borgess responds with his approval in a letter two days later: "We hail its institution with a cordial welcome, and shall be happy in doing all in our power to insure success."

1884 - With about $8,000 he received from Fr. Moczygemba from the sale of the land in Nebraska and other collections, Fr. Dabrowski was able to purchase a lot on the corners of St. Aubin and Forest and begin construction on the Polish seminary. Bishop Borgess delegated Fr. Dabrowski to borrow two loans totaling $7,500, and Fr. Dabrowski went door-to-door, and traveled to all parts of the country to promote awareness of the seminary and solicit funds.

1884 - The Felician Sisters convent is enlarged; over time, an orphanage, chapel, boarding school and infirmary are added.

July 22, 1885 - The cornerstone of the Polish Seminary is blessed by Bishop Stephen V. Ryan, of Buffalo.

November 1885 - Fr. Dabrowski is appointed pastor of St. Albertus Parish, which he served until March 1887.

1887 - Fr. Dabrowski's mother, Karolina, dies.

Dec. 15, 1887 - The Seminary building is blessed; a lack of finances delayed completion of construction for nearly three years. Bishop Borgess with the clergy of neighboring parishes leads a procession of hundreds of people. The bishop and Fr. Reilly, pastor of St. Patrick Church, spoke in English, and Fr. Domagalski preached in Polish. Eight students composed the first class to enroll at the Seminary; by the following June, the number had increased to 26.

Sept. 6, 1891 - The first issue of Niedziela is published. The official organ of the Polish seminary, it was a weekly Polish newspaper detailing the activities and progress of the seminary.

December 1892 - At a meeting of the Polish American Catholic Convention in Buffalo attended by clergy from numerous states, discussion of the incorporation of the seminary prompts Fr. Dabrowski to file a petition with the State of Michigan legally recognizing the seminary as an institution of higher learning.

1894 - With the help of the Felician Sisters, Fr. Dabrowski publishes a course of study for grades 1 thru 12 that had been in use for several years. The curriculum includes religion, general science, geography, history of Poland, history of the U. S., English language and literature, Polish language and literature, music, art, etiquette, gymnastics, penmanship, knitting and fine needlework.

August 1, 1894 - The seminary faculty, staff and students celebrate the silver jubilee of Fr. Dabrowski's ordination to the priesthood. Bishop Foley celebrated the mass. The afternoon was spent at the Felician Sisters convent, where a cast of orphans presented a play depicting Fr. Dabrowski's missionary career. Many eloquent tributes were paid, topped off by an apostolic blessing from Pope Leo XIII.

1896 - Fr. Dabrowski retires from teaching to concentrate on his chaplaincy of the Felician Sisters.

1899 - Among visitors to the seminary during the year were Cardinal Gibbons, of Baltimore, the Apostolic Delegate, several bishops and prominent lay people, such as Polish writer, Col. Milkowski, whose pen name was T. T. Jez.

April 5, 1902 - Ground is broken for a new chapel, auditorium, recreation and dining areas, and shower rooms at a cost of $20,000.
Jan. 23, 1903 - A group of seminarians protest to Fr. Dabrowski about the daily routine and conditions of the seminary, demanding changes and improvements. Failing in his effort to pacify them, Fr. Dabrowski expelled 29 of the seminarians. This incident affected his health considerably.

Feb. 8, 1903 - Fr. Dabrowski preaches his last sermon in the Felician Sisters convent. His theme was "Many are called, few are chosen."

Feb. 9, 1903 - He offers his last Mass. During the day he visited every nook of the convent, feeling as though it were his last. On leaving the convent, he suffered a heart attack in a stairway without realizing how grave his condition was.

Feb. 10, 1903 - Bishop Foley administers the last rites of the church to Fr. Dabrowski.

Feb. 15, 1903 - After a restless night, Fr. Dabrowski urges the sisters who had been maintaining an around-the-clock bedside vigil to attend Mass. The sisters returned after the service to find Fr. Dabrowski on the floor, dead.

Feb. 18, 1903 - Bishop Foley presides at the funeral mass at St. Albertus Church. Fr. Dabrowski's remains were laid to rest in a temporary vault at Mt. Elliott Cemetery.

July 1905 - Funeral ceremonies were repeated at the Capuchin monastery, and Fr. Dabrowski's remains were buried in a private grave at Mt. Elliot.

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