Keeler's life and times
March 4, 1931: Keeler is born in San Antonio.
1952: He graduates with a bachelor's degree from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook, Pa.
July 17, 1955: Then-Archbishop Luigi Traglia ordains him a priest at the Church of the Holy Apostles, Rome.
1956: Keeler graduates from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome with his licentiate in sacred theology.
1961: Keeler earns his doctorate in canon law at the Gregorian University.
1962-1965: He serves as special adviser during the Second Vatican Council.
1964: Keeler is named pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Maryville, Pa.
1965: He is named diocese's vice chancellor.
1969: He is named diocese's chancellor, and ultimately was selected as vicar general.
1979: He is named auxiliary bishop.
Sept. 3, 1983: He is named administrator of the diocese after Bishop Joseph T. Daley dies.
Nov. 10, 1983: Keeler is named Bishop of Harrisburg.
1984 to 1987: He serves as chairman of the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
April 11, 1989: He is appointed archbishop of Baltimore, succeeding Archbishop William D. Borders.
Nov. 1992: He is elected president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference, now known as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Nov. 28, 1994: Pope John Paul II names Keeler a cardinal.
1995: Pope John Paul II visits Baltimore.
1998-2001: Keeler serves as chairman of the U.S. conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities (and also in November 2003-2006).
April 19, 2005: Pope Benedict XVI is elected. Keeler participates in the conclave that chose him.
Oct. 7. 2006: Keeler suffers a broken ankle when a car he is riding in is hit during a vacation in Terni, Italy. The Rev. Bernard Quinn, 78, a retired priest from Harrisburg, is killed and another priest is injured.
Nov. 4, 2006: Keeler presides at the reopening ceremony for the Basilica of the Assumption.
June 18, 2007: Cardinal undergoes surgery to remove excess fluid from his brain. Dr. Ben Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital, inserts a shunt, or tube, into the cardinal's brain to allow excess cerebrospinal fluid to drain into his abdomen.
May 24, 2007: Keeler dedicates the Our Daily Bread Employment Center, a job training site and soup kitchen.
[Source: Archdiocese of Baltimore, The Catholic Review