TOKYO (UCAN) -- Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, former head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, died in a Tokyo hospital on Nov. 8. He was 77.

He had returned to Japan in October for treatment of lung cancer that had been diagnosed in Rome in September.

In 1998, then bishop of Yokohama, he became the first Japanese prelate to head a Vatican office, and in 2003 he became the fifth Japanese cardinal.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of Cardinal Hamao's ordination to the priesthood and one year since the death of his elder brother Minoru, who was a chamberlain to Japan's former crown prince, now Emperor Akihito.

In a message to Bishop Rafael Masahiro Umemura of Yokohama, Cardinal Hamao's successor in that diocese, Pope Benedict XVI praised the cardinal for his "devoted witness to the Gospel, his lively concern for the poor and his generous service to the universal Church."

As a member of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan (CBCJ), the cardinal headed committees dealing with education, international cooperation and minority rights. He also served as conference president from 1995 to 1998. During this time he initiated the annual meeting of Japanese and Korean bishops, which has continued since 1996. Meanwhile, he strove to develop ties among the various Churches of Asia, working with the Office of Human Development of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.

The cardinal was noted for forthrightness in presenting his opinions regarding the Vatican. While serving as CBCJ president, he attracted international attention when Japan's bishops led criticism of the topics chosen by the Vatican for discussion at the 1998 Synod for Asia.

After his retirement, he continued to be outspoken in interviews with the press, criticizing the Eurocentrism of the Vatican and calling for more African and Asian involvement in the curia.

Pope John Paul II called him to Rome to head the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in 1998. The Japanese prelate's fluency in several languages, his sense of humor and his willingness to travel anywhere to spend time with refugees, seafarers, circus workers and Roma, sometimes called gypsies, became hallmarks of his ministry.

Japan's ambassador to the Vatican, Kagefumi Ueno, said of the cardinal, "He was uninhibited, a man of quick wit, and spending time with him was always a pleasure." The ambassador described a visit to the cardinal's sickbed. "A month ago, I went with my wife to visit the cardinal in the hospital. He was in high spirits and said, 'The main problem is that this bed is too small.' He was certainly a big man, and we got the impression he would soon recover."

Cardinal Hamao retired from the pontifical council in 2006, a year after he submitted his resignation upon turning 75. He later said he was disappointed the Vatican neither consulted him nor offered advance notice of changes to his office when he left, and it was placed under the leadership of the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He said he found out about the change only by reading about it in a newspaper.

Cardinal Seiichi Shirayanagi, retired archbishop of Tokyo, told an interviewer following his compatriot's death, "The last time I spoke with him, he talked about the Roma and mourned the fact that there is no one at the council following up on his work to advance their rights."

From 1970 until he was named bishop of Yokohama in 1979, Cardinal Hamao was Cardinal Shirayanagi's auxiliary in Tokyo.

Commenting on the work of the pontifical council, Cardinal Hamao once said it was an important reminder to the rest of the church.

"In general, the Catholic Church in the world is interested only in pastoral care through parishes," he said. "But there are millions of people in the world without a fixed domicile, therefore no parish, and they deserve pastoral care, too."

After his retirement from the council, the cardinal remained in Rome, where he continued to serve as a consultor for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In the latter congregation, he advanced the cause of 188 Japanese martyrs whose beatification was approved earlier this year and is scheduled for next year.

The cardinal had said that after he left Rome he hoped to work for the Church in East Asia. Toward that end, he recently visited Siberia, North Korea and China, and had started studying Korean.

Cardinal Hamao was born in Tokyo on March 9, 1930, and was baptized when he was 16 years old. He began university studies but then entered the seminary in Tokyo in 1949. "God grabbed me and put me in the seminary," he would later recall, although some priests said "it was too soon."

He was sent to Rome in 1951 to complete his seminary education, earning degrees in philosophy and theology from Pontifical Urban University, and a degree in canon law from Pontifical Gregorian University. Meanwhile, he was ordained a priest in 1957 in Rome.

He returned to Tokyo, where he worked in the chancery and ministered in the cathedral. Ministry to students in the archdiocese was another of his responsibilities.

Cardinal Hamao's funeral was held Nov. 12 at St. Mary's Cathedral in Tokyo, with Cardinal Shirayanagi as principal celebrant and representative of Pope Benedict XVI. Around 1,600 people attended the concelebrated Mass, in addition to the 200 bishops and priests.

Cardinal Hamao's death leaves the College of Cardinals with 178 members. Of them, 103 are under age 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. After Pope Benedict creates new cardinals Nov. 24, there will be a total of 201 cardinals, of whom 120 will be papal electors.

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(Accompanying photos available at here)