2. Chapter 25
Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
Upon hearing the court's decision, Rizal already knew that there's no way that his
destiny would be changed – Rizal knew it was his end, and had accepted his fate.
6 o'clock in the morning of December 29, 1896
- Captain Rafael Dominguez, read before him the official notice of his execution,
scheduled the next day. Rizal was immediately transferred to the prison chapel
where he spent his last hours on earth.
-Inside the chapel, Rizal busied himself by writing correspondences to friends and
family, bidding everyone farewell; and conversing with his Jesuit priests friends.
He had a lot of visitors, arriving one or two after the other:
3. • Fr. Miguel Saderra Mata – the Rector of the Ateneo Municipal; arrived in the
prison early in the morning.
• Fr. Luis Viza – came with Fr. Mata; the priest to whom Rizal asked for the
image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which he made during his stay in Ateneo.
• Fr. Antonio Rosell – another friend of Rizal who gladly eaten a fine breakfast
with him; returned in the afternoon to resume his talk with Rizal.
• Lt. Taviel de Andrade – Rizal extended his appreciation for Andrade's services
as his defense counsel.
• Fr. Federico Faura – had prophesied earlier rather comically that Rizal would
lose his head for writing the Noli Me Tangere, and the latter “congratulated”
the priest for being right.
4. • Fr. Jose Villaclara – Rizal's former teacher in Ateneo ; ate lunch with him.
• Fr. Vicente Balaguer – accompanied Fr. Villaclara; ate lunch with Rizal as well.
• Santiago Mataix – contributor in the El Heraldo de Madrid
• Teodora Alonzo – Rizal knelt before his beloved mother, begging for forgiveness
and understanding; the mother and son were separated by the strong grip of the
prison guard.
• Trinidad – arrived when Teodora left the chapel; to her, Rizal handed down an
alcohol cooking stove and whispered that something was inside it (turned out to
be his last piece, the Mi Ultimo Adios, written in a small piece of paper).
• Gaspar Castaño – fiscal of the Royal Audiencia; had a good conversation with Rizal
5. 10 o'clock
A retraction letter prepared by Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda was presented to
Rizal, however, he rejected it for being too long. Fr. Balaguer, on the other hand,
showed another draft from Fr. Pio Pi, which Rizal liked but wanted some parts of
which be changed
1:30pm
Rizal wrote and signed the retraction letter in which he renounced the mason
movement – witnesses to this event were Juan del Fresno and Eloy Moure
(Assistant of the Plaza). Rizal then confessed to Fr. Villaclara, and after which,
slept. Two hours later, he rose up and prayed and confessed again. Inside the
chapel, he knelt before the altar and prayed with the rosary. He, for the third
time, confessed to Fr. Villaclara and once finished, read Imitacíon de
Cristoby Tomas á Kempis
6. 3:30 in the morning of December 30, 1896
Fr. Balaguer lead a mass – Rizal, once again, made a confession and
received Communion
5:00am
He ate his last breakfast and autographed some memorabilia including
religious pictures and books which will be passed on to his mother, and
her sister, Trinidad. Accompanied by his sister Narcisa, Josephine
Bracken arrived and as requested by Rizal, the couple was canonically
blessed as husband and wife by Fr. Balaguer. To Josephine, Rizal gave
the Imitacíon de Cristo as wedding gift. For the last time, he wrote a letter
to his parents, Ferdinand Blumentritt and Paciano.
7.
8. 6:30am, Rizal's March to Bagumbayan commenced.
He – in his black suit, black necktie, black hat, black shoes and white vest – calmly
walked from his prison cell in Fort Santiago to the execution site with
Lt. Taviel de Andrade on one side
Fathers Estanislao March
Jose Villaclara, on the other side
They walked behind four advanced guards armed with bayonets.
• Jose Rizal was tied behind from elbow to elbow, although, still had the freedom to
move his arms. In his right arm was a rosary which he kept on holding until his final
breath. Meters before the execution place, a number of spectators awaited Rizal.
During his long march, Rizal saw familiar faces and places; he spent his time
reminiscing his childhood, the fun he had with his family and friends.
9. Jose Rizal was tied behind from
elbow to elbow, although, still
had the freedom to move his
arms. In his right arm was a
rosary which he kept on holding
until his final breath. Meters
before the execution place, a
number of spectators awaited
Rizal.During his long march,Rizal
saw familiar faces and places;
he spent his time reminiscing
his childhood, the fun he had
with his family and friends.
10. • In the Bagumbayan Field
- Rizal shook the hands of the two priests and his defender,
bidding them farewell
- A priest blessed and offered him a crucifix which he gently kissed
- Rizal had one request, that is, that he be shot facing the firing
squad, however, in vain since the captain of the squad ordered a back
shot. As such, Rizal had no choice but to turn his back
A physician by the name of Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillo
was amazed that Rizal's vital signs were normal, particularly his pulse rate
– was Rizal really unafraid to die?
11.
12. - The firing squad was commanded in unison with drumbeats.
Upon the brisk command “Fire!”
- The guns of the squad flared. Rizal, by his sheer effort and
remaining energy, twisted his body around to face the firing
squad, and so, fell on the ground with his face toward the blue sky, his
head slightly inclined toward the rising sun in the east
- What can be heard from the crowd of Spaniards was their loud,
audible voice, shouting “Long live Spain! Death to traitors!”
Jose Rizal died at exactly 7:03 in the morning of December 30
13. Rizal at 11 Rizal at 18 in UST
Rizal at 16 Rizal at 35 Rizal at 25 in Madrid
