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:
• 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.
• 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
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
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.
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
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.
• 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?
-
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
Rizal at 11
Rizal at 16
Rizal at 18 in UST
Rizal at 35
Rizal at 25 in Madrid