Jose Rizal en traje de Colegial
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Jose Rizal was
born, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso, on June 19, 1861.
His parents belonged to the middle class and lived on the tenant land ownedby the friars
in Calamba,Laguna.
In his early childhood, Rizal was
under the tutorship of his mother who taught him the three R’s. He mastered the
alphabet at the age of three. After two years of tutoring, he could read the Spanish
version of the Vulgate bible. When he was eight years old, he wrote a play in Tagalog and
this was presented at a Calamba fiesta. Even at an early age, he showed artistic talent in
painting and sculpture.
Pepe
Rizal’s formal schooling started when, at the age of eleven, he was admitted into the
Ateneo Municipal which was then under the supervision of the Spanish Jesuits. The
curriculum of the five-year secondary course (leading to the degree of Bachiller en
Artes or AB), included subjects such as Christian doctrine, Sacred history, Latin,
Spanish, Greek, French, English, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Universal history,
Spanish history, Latin literature, rhetoric and poetics, Social ethics, Psychology,
Logic and other branches of Philosophy.
Yo
ung
Rizal tackled his work as a genious would. He captured many honors in literary and
artistic contests. He always had an edge over his classmates and he stayed at the top even
during the written and oral examinations. His report cards were usually marked sobresaliente (excellent).
Whenever
there was an oratorical tilt, Pepe Rizal was there winning medals as usual. He wrote a
playlet in Spanish called "Junto al Pasig", which was presented in school.
On the spiritual side of school activities,
Rizal was also a high-point man. He was Prefect of the Sodality of Our Lady with Fr. Pablo
Pastells, S.J. as the Director.
In the early morning of 30Dec.1896, Rizal walked to his place of execution,flanked by two Jesuits, Fr.José Vilaclara, one of his professors, and Fr. Estanislao March,whom he had known in his student days. He marched briskly, with calmness and dignity. Passing by the Ateneo, he turned his face to it several times. Upon reaching Bagumbayan, he looked back again, and seeing the towers of San Ignacio Church, he asked the Jesuits: "Is that the Ateneo?" "Yes," they replied.
And he added: "Well, I spent seven years there. "Then addressing his lawyer, Don Luis Taviel de Andrade, who walked on side of Fr. March, he said: "Everything that the Jesuits taught me was good and holy..." (Pastells, Rizal y su obra, p. 39 .) |
