The road to sainthood

July, 26 1962
Dun Gorg dies at the age of 82.

February 3, 1964
Charles Zammit Endrich believes a miracle has taken place when his detached retina inexplicably heals after his friend places a shoelace used by Dun Gorg under his pillow the preceding day.

June 24, 1975
The cause for the beatification of Dun Gorg is opened by Archbishop Michael Gonzi.

February 17, 1998
Documentation relevant to the beatification cause of Dun Gorg Preca is presented to the Congregation of Saintly Causes in Rome by Mgr Charles Scicluna, postulator of the cause.

June 28, 1999
Dun Gorg is declared venerable by Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.

October 22, 1999
The Theological Congress for the Cause of Sainthood declares that a cure resulting from Dun Gorg's intercession was miraculous.

July 8, 2000
The remains of Dun Gorg are exhumed from the crypt under the chapel of the MUSEUM's headquarters in Blata l-Bajda where they are found to be remarkably well-preserved.

May 9, 2001
Dun Gorg is beatified by Pope John Paul II along with Nazju Falzon and Adeodata Pisani during a ceremony at the Granaries in Floriana.

December, 2001
Parents of a baby boy born six months earlier report his unexplained recovery from liver failure to the postulator as they had placed a glove on the boy that was used in Dun Gorg's exhumation.

January 11, 2007
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome approves a second miracle that should lead to the canonisation of the Blessed Gorg Preca.

February 15, 2007
Pope Benedict XVI approves the decree of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on the second miracle by Blessed Gorg Preca that is expected to lead to canonisation.

June 3, 2007
Dun Gorg is declared a saint during a ceremony at St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Over 5,000 Maltese attend.