Luis Aponte Martínez was born in Lajas, Puerto Rico on August 8, 1922. He studied in the Seminary of San Ildefonso in San Juan and the Seminary of Saint John in Boston, MA. He also attended Boston College and earned a a Doctorate from the Seminary of Saint Leo of Florida. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Ponce in San German, Puerto Rico, on April 10, 1950.
He became the second native-born Puerto Rican in nearly 150 years to be consecrated as a bishop on
On October 12, 1960. He was appointed as a cardinal of the Archdiocese of Puerto Rico on March 5, 1973 by Pope Paul VI a position he held for 34 years until his death on April 10, 2012 at 89 years of age.
During is tenure as as a Cardinal he was the president of the board of directors of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico, the president of the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference, and the Latin American Episcopal Conference. He also was instrumental in launching a television and radio station and a weekly publication called El Visitante (The Visitor) serving the Archdiocese of Puerto Rico.