VATICAN CITY, NOV. 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI has expressed his sorrow at the death of Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, past president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.
The cardinal died in Tokyo on Thursday at age 77 after a battle with cancer. His funeral will be held in Yokohama, Japan, where he was bishop before Pope John Paul II called him to his post with the Roman Curia.
Benedict XVI sent two messages of condolence, one to the cardinal's sister, Teresa Tereku Uematsu, another to the current bishop of Yokohama, Rafael Masahiro Umemura.
The Pope recalled the cardinal as a "devoted witness to the Gospel" and noted "his lively concern for the poor and his generous service to the universal Church."
Stephen Fumio Hamao was born in 1930 in Tokyo. He was ordained a priest at age 27 and in 1970 was named auxiliary bishop of Tokyo. In 1979, he was made bishop of Yokohama.
He dedicated himself to the care of youth, immigrants, refugees and the poor, in particular as president of Caritas Asia and Oceania.
In 1995, he was elected president of Japan's episcopal conference. Three years later, John Paul II called him to Rome to be president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.
At age 76, in 2006, Cardinal Hamao presented his resignation from that post to Benedict XVI.
The College of Cardinals now has 178 members, 103 who could vote in a conclave and 75 who are over age 80, and thus non-voters.
ZE07110906 - 2007-11-09