Ernesto Cardenal

Ernesto Cardenal Martínez (20 January 1925 – 1 March 2020^[1]) was a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, poet, and politician. He was a liberation theologian. He was the founder of the primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands. His brother was Fernando Cardenal.

Ernesto Cardenal
Born	Ernesto Cardenal Martínez (1925-01-20)20 January 1925 Granada, Nicaragua
Died	1 March 2020(2020-03-01) (aged 95) Managua, Nicaragua
Nationality	Nicaraguan
Occupations	Poet liberation theologian
Years active	1954–2020
Known for	Nicaraguan cultural figure
Notable work	The Gospel in Solentiname

Cardenal was a member of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, he was Nicaragua's minister of culture from 1979 to 1987. He was banned from administering the sacraments in 1984 by Pope John Paul II, but it was restored by Pope Francis in 2019.^[2]

On 1 March 2020, Cardenal died of problems caused by heart and kidney disease, aged 95.^[3]