Fr. Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama, new bishop of Hiroshima, Japan

Jul 01, 2016

HIROSHIMA: The Holy Father, Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama, the new Bishop for the vacant Diocese of Hiroshima. Currently Fr. Alexis Shirhama  was serving as  the rector of the National Catholic Seminary of Fukuoka.   

He was born on May 20, 1962  in Kamigoto, Archdiocese of Nagasaki. In 1986 he obtained a Bachelor’s  degree  in Philosophy at the Keio University in Tokyo, and in 1990 a Bachelor’s degree  in Theology at the Seminary of St.  Suplice Fukuoka. He later studied at the Catholic Institute of Paris, obtaining a Licentiate in Liturgy with specialization in Sacramental Theology.

He was ordained a priest on March 19, 1990 at Urakami, Archdiocese of Nagasaki, and incardinated in the same city. In 1993 he joined the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice.

After his ordination he was the professor  in St. Sulpice Seminary of Fukuoka (1995-2008); since 1995,  he  was the member of the Liturgical Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan and professor of Liturgy and Sacramental Theology, since 2012 he served as the  Rector of the Catholic Seminary of Japan.--Vatican Radio