Luis Aponte Martínez

Luis Aponte Martínez (August 4, 1922 – April 10, 2012) was Archbishop Emeritus of San Juan in Puerto Rico. To date he is the only Puerto Rican to have been elevated to a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of San Juan for 34 years. He was a Cardinal Elector in the two conclaves of 1978 responsible for the elections of Popes John Paul I and John Paul II.

His Eminence

Luis Aponte Martínez
Cardinal, Archbishop Emeritus of San Juan
SeeSan Juan
InstalledJanuary 15, 1965
Term endedMarch 26, 1999
PredecessorJames Peter Davis
SuccessorRoberto González Nieves OFM
Other postsBishop of Ponce (1963-1964)
Orders
OrdinationApril 10, 1950
by Bishop James Edward McManus CSsR
ConsecrationOctober 12, 1960
by Cardinal Francis Spellman
Created cardinalMarch 5, 1973
Personal details
Born(1922-08-04)August 4, 1922
Lajas, Puerto Rico
DiedApril 10, 2012(2012-04-10) (aged 89)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
BuriedCathedral of San Juan Bautista, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Early life and education

Cardinal Aponte Martínez was born in the town of Lajas, Puerto Rico,[1][2] the son of Santiago Evangelista Aponte and Rosa María Martínez.[3]

Aponte came from a large family, the eighth of 18 children. He served as an altar boy for many years in his town of Lajas. parish church.

Aponte studied in the Seminary of San Ildefonso in San Juan;[3] from there he went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied in the Seminary of Saint John.[1] He also attended Boston College and earned his Doctorate from the Seminary of Saint Leo of Florida.

Priesthood and episcopacy

Aponte was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Ponce in San German, Puerto Rico, on April 10, 1950, by James Edward McManus CSsR, the Bishop of Ponce.[1][2] Between 1950 and 1955, he served as a pastor in various towns in the diocese. In 1955 he served as secretary to the bishop, as well as superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese. In 1957, he once again served as a pastor and also served as chaplain for the Puerto Rico National Guard, until his appointment in 1957 as chancellor of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce.[3]

On October 12, 1960, Aponte Martinez became only the second native-born Puerto Rican in nearly 150 years (after Juan Alejo de Arizmendi) to be consecrated as a bishop, being appointed auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Ponce by Pope John XXIII, assigned as the titular bishop of Lares in Asia Minor (Turkey). On April 16, 1963, Aponte Martinez was appointed coadjutor bishop of Ponce by Pope John, to which office he succeeded on November 18, 1963, and was installed on the following February 22. On November 4, 1964, he was appointed by Pope Paul VI as the Archbishop of San Juan.[1][2]

Cardinal
Styles of
Luis Aponte Martínez
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeSan Juan (Emeritus)

On March 5, 1973,[1][2] Pope Paul VI made Archbishop Aponte Martínez the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria della Provvidenza a Monteverde. He held the position of president of the board of directors of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico. He was president of the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference[1] and also of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM).

In 1984, Aponte helped coordinate and was among the many dignitaries who greeted Pope John Paul II, upon his visit to Puerto Rico.

Cardinal Aponte was actively involved in some of the church's major acquisitions in Puerto Rico. Among these were a television and radio station and a weekly publication called El Visitante (The Visitor). This served to spread the church's point of view all over the island.

Cardinal Aponte retired as Archbishop of San Juan in May 1999, after almost 30 years as archbishop. He participated in the preparation for the Papal Conclave of 2005, but was unable to vote, since he was 82 at the time of the conclave, past the canonical age of 80 for electors.

In 2006, he published his memoirs, Unde hoc mihi.

Death

According to a brief online news release posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, by Catholic News Service (CNS), the Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus,: "died April 10 at the Hospital Español e Auxilio Mutuo in San Juan after a long illness. He was 89.[4] Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuno declared five days of official mourning for the cardinal, who died on the 62nd anniversary of his priestly ordination.

The cardinal's body was taken to churches in Lajas, San German, Ponce and Santurce, to allow local Catholics to pay their respects, and a Mass of the Resurrection took place on April 16 in the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in Old San Juan. Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo, retired archbishop of Seville, Spain, presided, with the Puerto Rican bishops and Archbishop Josef Wesolowski, papal nuncio to the Dominican Republic and apostolic delegate to Puerto Rico, concelebrating.[5]

Episcopal succession
Ordination history of
Luis Aponte Martínez
History
Priestly ordination
Ordained byJames Edward McManus CSsR (Ponce)
DateApril 10, 1950
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated byFrancis Cardinal Spellman (New York)
DateOctober 12, 1960
Cardinalate
Elevated byPope Paul VI
DateMarch 5, 1973
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Luis Aponte Martínez as principal consecrator
Miguel Rodriguez RodriguezMarch 23, 1974
Ulises Aurelio Casiano VargasApril 30, 1976
Héctor Manuel Rivera PérezAugust 17, 1979
Enrique Manuel Hernández RiveraAugust 17, 1979
Hermín Negrón SantanaSeptember 7, 1981
Ruben Antonio González MedinaFebruary 4, 2001
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See also

References
  1. "Holy See Press Office".
  2. "Luis Cardinal Aponte Martínez [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  3. "Luis Cardenal Aponte Martínez". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  4. "Luis Cardinal Aponte Martínez [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  5. "CNS NEWS BRIEFS Apr-10-2012". archive.is. 21 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
James Peter Davis		 Archbishop of San Juan
1965–1999		 Succeeded by
Roberto González Nieves OFM
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