Cardinal Seiichi Shirayanagi, who was appointed in October 1994 by the late Pope John Paul II, died of heart failure Wednesday morning at a monastery in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, where he was recuperating, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan said. He was 81.

Shirayanagi was ordained in 1954 and appointed archbishop of Tokyo in 1970. He was the fourth Japanese to become a cardinal, and with his passing there are no others left.

The funeral Mass will start at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Mary's Cathedral in Bunkyo Ward.