Foreword: This article is an excerpt from the feature story of the Ateneo Alumni Directory (USA-Canada International) dedicated to Rizal on the centennial anniversary of his execution at Bagumbayan Field (now Luneta Park) in Manila, Philippines. This does not cover the entire life of Rizal. We intentionally left out important years in his life such as his Dapitan exile, and his travels abroad including the United States and Europe. We have limited ourselves to the events of his life when he had direct contact with his Jesuit mentors -- his seven years at Ateneo Municipal (Ateneo de Manila), and his last days at Fort Santiago. -- The All Ateneo Alumni Alliance (Southern California).
This year we are celebrating the centennial of the death of Jose Rizal -- intellectual, man of letters and of the sciences, poet, linguist, sculptor, painter, musician, eye surgeon, sportsman, romantic, patriot, national hero, martyr for his country, and Atenean.
His writings especially the novels Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, largely inspired the revolution against Spain. His death by firing squad on December 30, 1896 was the final spark that ignited the armed and bloody Philippine uprising led by Andres Bonifacio that ended Spain's colonial hold on the Philippines for over 300 years.
Rizal was influenced by his environment -- his childhood days sorrounded by love and care of family and friends in Calamba, Laguna, his birthplace and hometown; his seven years at the Ateneo Municipal; his time in University of Santo Tomas as a medical student; his years abroad from 1888 to 1891 in pursuit of higher learning and greater knowledge and understanding of the world and humanity.
Rizal came to Manila on June 10, 1872 with his older brother Paciano and went to the Dominican-run Colegio de San Juan de Letran to take the entrance exams. He passed the exams easily and returned to Calamba a few days later for the town fiesta. It was a fateful decision to go home, because his father had heard of the prestigious Jesuit teachers at the Ateneo Municipal, known for its high academic standards and school discipline -- and had a change of mind.
Young Rizal, only eleven years old at that time, late for registration, sickly and undersized for his age, was initially refused admission by the college registrar. But upon the intercession of Manuel Xerez Burgos (nephew of Fr. Burgoz of the GomBurZa fame), he was reluctantly admitted to the Ateneo.
"The system of education given by the Jesuits in the Ateneo formerly Escuela Pia (Charity School for poor boys in Manila) established by the Spanish government and later turned over to the Jesuits, was advanced from that of other colleges in that period. It trained the character of the students by rigid discipline and religious instruction. It promoted physical culture, fine arts, and scientific studies. Aside from the academic courses leading to the degree of A.B., it offered vocational courses in agriculture, commerce, and mechanics...The students hear Mass in the morning before beginning of the daily class. Class in every subject was opened and closed with prayers." (Zaide)
On his first day of class in June 1872, Rizal first heard Mass at the college chapel and prayed fervently to God for guidance and success. When the Mass was over, he went to his class where he saw a great number of boys -- Spaniards, mestisos, and Filipinos. Being a newcomer and knowing little Spanish, and an externo (non-Ateneo boarder), he was placed in the bottom of the class. After the first week the frail Calamba boy progressed rapidly and at the end of the month he became emperor, a title given by the teacher to the brightest in class. While his clasmates gossiped and played, he took private lessons at Santa Isabel College to improve his Spanish.
Rizal was not just another bookworm. At the Ateneo he was a member of several exclusive societies including the Academies of Spanish Literature and of Natural Sciences. In his leisure hours, he cultivated his literary talents under the guidance of Fr. Sanchez. The young Jose's poems were greatly influenced by the poets on Ancient Greece and Rome whose works he studied in their original languages. Another professor, Fr. Jose Villaclara advised him to pay more attention to more practical studies such as philosophy and natural sciences. Rizal did not heed his advise, he continued to solicit Fr. Sanchez' help in improving his poetry.
Aside from poetry, Rizal also cultivated his talents in sculpture and painting. The famous Spanish painter Agustin Saez and a noted Filipino sculptor Romualdo de Jesus were his teachers. Fr. Lleonart, impressed by Rizal's sculptural talent, requested him to carve an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Young Rizal obliged, and within days presented it to him. The old Jesuit priest was highly pleased and profusely thanked the young sculptor. He intended to take the image with him to Spain, but, being an absent-minded professor, he forgot to do do. The Ateneo boarding students then placed it on the door of their dormitory, and there it remained for nearly 20 years, reminding all Ateneans of Dr. Jose Rizal, the greatest alumnus of their Alma Mater. This image played a significant part in Rizal's last hours at Fort Santiago.
The 16-year old Rizal graduated summa cum laude in March 1877 having received medals and "excellent" marks throughout his stay in the Ateneo.
After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ateneo, Rizal enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas to begin his medical studies. At the same time he took the vocational surveying course at the Ateneo. Some say he was hesitant to let go of his Jesuit professors whom he loved and who constantly "inspired him to ascend to greater heights of knowledge."
The fateful day was December 30, 1896. At daybreak, few spectators had lined the streets from Fort Santiago to Plaza del Palacio in front of the Manila Cathedral. It seemed everybody else was waiting at Bagumbayan Field (now Luneta Park) to witness the execution of a Filipino hero. Then as if on cue, about 6:30, the silence of that cool morning air was broken by the sound of a trumpet followed by the muffled sounds of drums. The solemn march of death began.
Four soldiers with drawn bayonets served as the advance guards. A few meters behind was the condemned prisoner whose arms were tied from elbow to elbow behind his back with a rosary dangling in one hand. To his side was his defender and on the other side were two Jesuit priests. On the rear, more soldiers joined the march.
Onlookers must have had eerie feelings that morning at Bagumbayan. The spectacle must have been chilling. But the condemned man handsomely dressed in black, with white vest and black tie, wearing a black derby hat, felt no fear as he calmly rendezvoused with his martyrdom. Looking at the sky, he said: "How beautiful it is today, Father. What morning could be more serene! How clear are Corregidor and the mountains of Cavite! On mornings like this, I used to take a walk with my sweetheart!"
Jose Rizal, found guilty of the crime of rebellion against Spain, was the condemned man. To the very end he maintained his innocence. He wrote in German to his best friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt: "Tomorrow at seven I shall be shot, but I am innocent of the crime of rebellion". In his last letter to his brother Paciano Rizal, he wrote: "I assure you, brother, that I die innocent of this crime of rebellion." It was his writings, especially Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo that brought him to his Bagumbayan Field execution.
As the cavalcade paraded in front of the Ateneo, he saw the college towers above the walls. Wistfully he told one of the priests he spent seven years of his life there. Fond memories must have flashed in his mind; how his father sacrificed for his education; how his brother Paciano, helped in that sacrifice; how he carved in school the image of the Sacred of Jesus which his Ateneo teacher brought to him in his prison cell in Fort Santiago; how among his Filipino and Spanish classmates he was the only one who scored perfect grades. The Jesuits at the Ateneo greatly influenced him and challenged his brilliant mind to the limit. In his Mi Ultimo Adios he wrote (fifth line, first paragraph): "Tambien por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien!" Roughly translated, "To give and not to count the cost!" a striking resemblance with the prayer of St Ignatius Loyola, the first Jesuit.
He wrote his Ultimo Adios at 3:30 p.m., December 29, 1896 and hid it inside an alcohol cooking stove. When his sister Trinidad came to visit him, Rizal gave her the stove and spoke to her in English: "There is something in it." His sister whom he taught English, understood.
Rizal had many visitors that day before he was led to Bagumbayan. Five of them were Jesuit priests. At four different occasions, he made his confession. Three different times to Fr. Jose Villaclara, his teacher at the Ateneo. His fourth and last confession was with a Mass with Fr. Balaguer, Superior of the Jesuits. He had other visitors: the Dean of the Manila Cathedral; a correspondent of El Heraldo de Madrid, his defender: the Fiscal of the Royal Audiencia, his mother, his sister Trinidad, and at 5 a.m. on that fateful day, Josephine Bracken came. As requested by Rizal, Fr. Balaguer married them.
In parting, Rizal gave to his wife Josephine a book, the Imitacion de Cristo by Thomas A Kempis with the following dedication:
As the grim entourage reached the field where spectators crowded a huge square formed by soldiers. Rizal bade farewell to the Jesuit priest and to his defender. He was asked to stand on a grassy lawn between two lamp posts. His request to be shot facing the firing squad was denied. As he turned his back, a military physician felt his pulse which was normal, showing that he was not afraid to die.
The death ruffles of the drums filled the air. Above the drumbeats, the sharp command "Fire!" was heard, and the guns of the firing squad barked. Rizal, with supreme effort, veered his bullet-riddled body to the right, and fell dead on the ground--with face upward to the rising sun. (Zaide, 205)
The rising sun of Philippine Independence came two years later, in 1898, when Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo raised the Philippine flag from his balcony in Kawit, Cavite.
Some portions of this material were reproduced with permission from the copyright owners:
Dr. Gregorio F. Zaide and Dr. Sonia M. Zaide, "Martyrdom at Bagumbayan", Jose Rizal: Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist and National Hero (Manila: All Nations Publishing Co., 1994).
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