Father Fernando Cardenal, a Nicaraguan Jesuit and minister of education in the Sandinista government who led the literacy campaign in Nicaragua in 1980, shared his message to help others last Friday at the Egan Chapel.
“At this time in the world, young people live in apathy or lack interest…the majority aren’t doing anything,” said Fr. Cardenal, as relayed by his Spanish translator “One life and it goes by too quickly; take advantage of it and do something important.”
Fr. Cardenal, born into a privileged Nicaraguan family, joined the Jesuit order to help the poor.
“My knowledge of the poor was cerebral knowledge,” he said.
After spending nine months in Jesuit training living amongst the poor with 11 other Jesuits, his conception of the poor changed drastically.
“Poverty in Latin America is unbearable. It needs to be changed. As a human I cannot accept it, something needs to be done,” said Fr. Cardenal. “I reached a point when I did not want to walk outside, [the poor] were no longer statistics; they were my friends.”
After his training he asked his superior if he could return to Nicaragua to dedicate his life to the liberation of the poor and the promotion of justice.
At the time of his return, the Samoza government, supported politically and militarily by the United States government, oppressed the poor of Nicaragua. This dictatorship ruled for 45 years. Fr. Cardenal began to work with the young law students of the local university to help liberate the poor oppressed by this regime.
In the late 1970s, the young commander of the revolution invited Fr. Cardenal to join their movement during a secret meeting. Fr. Cardenal accepted after much prayer.
The commander asked him to work within the communities of the city and the church to help raise awareness.
After the Somoza government was overthrown in 1979, the Sandinista government, a leftist political movement, began the development of a new Nicaragua in favor of the poor.
Fr. Cardenal was named Minister of Education to lead the national literacy campaign. In Nicaragua at the time, more than 50 percent of the population were illiterate; Fr. Cardenal’s task was to make the country literate. Asking for volunteers, more than 60,000 people responded to volunteer to educate peasant farmers in reading and writing for five months.
“Organized in squads, columns, brigades and armed with notebooks, pencils and pens,” said Fr. Cardenal, the volunteers headed into the mountains to educate.
After five months, the illiteracy level dropped from 50 percent to 12.9 percent. All the volunteers stayed throughout the five months even though seven of them were murdered by contra guerillas and 56 died in accidents. The Nicaraguan campaign was awarded the 1980 UNESCO literacy prize and has been recognized as one of the world’s most successful literacy movements.
After spending more than 20 years as a member of the revolutionary movement, Fr. Cardenal said that “nothing offended my conscience as a Christian.”
“When I saw corruption from 1990s on, I opposed the Sandinistas. I resigned from my position and denounced the corruption that I saw,” he added.
Fr. Cardenal left the students with one message: “Serve and you’ll be happy.”
“The choices we make everyday are a response to this message,” said Fr. Carrier.
“He re-inspired me to help,” said Linda Davidow ’05. “When I go to Nicaragua I hope to have a better understanding of not only what he experienced but his message as well.”
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