Peter Seiichi Shirayanagi (白柳誠一 ''Shirayanagi Seiichi'', June 17, 1928 – December 30, 2009) was a Japanese Cardinal Priest of the Catholic Church and archbishop of Tokyo.

Life

Born in Hachiōji, Tokyo,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Shirayanagi studied at Sophia University, earning a degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

in 1951 and a specialization in theology in 1954. Ordained a priest on 21 December 1954 at Kanda Catholic Cathedral, he went to study at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, earning a doctorate in Canon law in 1960. Consecrated titular Bishop of Atenia and Auxiliary of Tokyo in 1966, he was named titular Archbishop of Castro and Coadjutor Archbishop of the Tokyo Archdiocese in 1969, and succeeded to the post of

Archbishop of Tokyo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tokyo ( la, Archidioecesis Tokiensis, ja, カトリック東京大司教区) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Japan. It was erected as the Apostolic Vicariate ...

in 1970. As archbishop, he continued the Tokyo Archdiocesan

Convention Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

, implementing the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, and in 1989 led a group to visit the Catholic Church in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. From 1983 to 1992, he presided over the

ese Catholic Bishops' conference, which opened the Japanese Catholic Center in Tokyo in 1990. In 1994, Pope John Paul II created him a Cardinal with the title of Cardinal-Priest of ''

Santa Emerenziana a Tor Fiorenza The Church of Saint Emerentiana on Tor Fiorenza ( it, Santa Emerenziana a Tor Fiorenza, la, S. Emerentianae ad locum vulgo Tor Fiorenza) is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, built as a parish church, by decree of Cardinal Francesco Marchet ...

''. On 12 June 2000, he retired as archbishop of Tokyo. He was one of the

cardinal electors A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

who participated in the

2005 papal conclave The 2005 papal conclave was convened to elect a new pope following the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals of the Catholic Church who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elec ...

that selected Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Shirayanagi was hospitalized at the beginning of August, 2009 for cardiac arrhythmia, then suffered a light

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

. On December 23 he moved to Loyola House, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

home for aged priests in Tokyo, where he died on December 30. Shirayanagi was an honorary member of AV Edo-Rhenania zu Tokio, a Catholic student

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

that is affiliated with Cartellverband. This is the list of his major life events: * On 17 June 1928, he was born in Hachioji (Tokyo). Baptized the following day by Fr.Meirand (MEP) * On 21 December 1954, he was ordained a priest of Tokyo, Japan * In June 1960, he graduated from Pontifical Urbaniana University (Doctor in Canon Law) * On 15 March 1966, he was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Tokyo, Japan * On 8 May 1966, he was consecrated titular Bishop of Atenia * On 21 February 1970, he succeeded as Archbishop of Tokyo * On 26 November 1994, he was elevated to a Cardinal * On 17 February 2000, he resigned as the Archbishop of Tokyo * On 18 April 2005, he participated in the Conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI * On 24 November 2008, he presided over the Mass of Beatification of Fr. Kibe and 187 martyrs (Nagasaki) * On 30 December 2009, he died at Loyola House (Tokyo)

Notes

External links

Biography at catholic-pages.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirayanagi, Peter 1928 births 2009 deaths Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Japanese cardinals People from Hachiōji, Tokyo Sophia University alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States 20th-century cardinals 21st-century cardinals