TOKYO (UCAN) -- Bishop Hisajiro Matsunaga, who led Fukuoka diocese for 15 years, died of a cerebral hemorrhage early in the morning of June 2 at his residence in Fukuoka. He was 76 years old.

Father Soichi Kawakami, who will serve as administrator of the southern diocese until the appointment of a new bishop, told UCA News over the phone: "It was a shock. A day of joy has turned into a day of sorrow."

The priest was referring to celebrations planned for June 4 to celebrate what would have been the 50th anniversary of the bishop's ordination to the priesthood.

According to Father Kawakami, Bishop Matsunaga had recently joked, "I won't be around much longer." The priest said his reply was, "Don't go while you're still in office."

Fukuoka is 875 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.

Father Kawakami noted that just a few days before his death, the bishop had visited his parents' graves in his hometown of Hirodo in Nagasaki prefecture.

The bishop was born March 7, 1930, and was ordained in Rome in 1956 for Nagasaki diocese in Japan. In Rome he studied at Pontifical Urban University before earning a doctorate in canon law at Pontifical Lateran University and a doctorate in theology at Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. After his return to Nagasaki, he served in various positions in the archdiocese.

In 1977, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Nagasaki, a position he held until his appointment in late 1990 to succeed retiring Bishop Saburo Hirata as head Fukuoka diocese. He was installed as bishop of Fukuoka on Jan. 15, 1991.

When Bishop Matsunaga turned 75 last year, he submitted his request for resignation to the Vatican, in accord with canon law, but as of the time of his death, the request had not been accepted.

Fukuoka diocese comprises the prefectures of Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Saga. According to the diocesan report for 2005, it had 31,287 registered Catholics, with an estimated 5,000 unregistered foreign Catholics also in the diocese.

END