Ernesto Cardenal Martínez, born in Granada, Nicaragua, on 20 January 1925, was a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, poet, liberation theologian, and politician. After studying literature in Managua, Mexico, and New York City, Cardenal entered the Trappist Monastery of Gethsemani in Kentucky in 1957, later leaving in 1959 to study theology in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Ordained a priest in Granada in 1965, he founded a Christian peasant and artistic community in the Solentiname Islands, where he wrote El Evangelio en Solentiname and hosted visiting writers including Julio Cortázar. In 1979, Cardenal was appointed Minister of Culture by the Sandinista government, serving until 1987. His poetry, including collections such as Zero Hour and Pluriverse, reflected liberation theology and Marxist thought. His international accolades included the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in 1990 and the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art in 2010. Cardenal died in Managua, Nicaragua, on 1 March 2020, and was buried in the community he founded on the Solentiname Islands.
