Jose Rizal’s Last 25 Hours: Eventful, Dramatic, Historic
Jose Rizal’s Last 25 Hours
Copyright © by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Accounts on Rizal’s last hours vary and largely depend on the historian one is reading. What happened in Rizal’s life from 6 a.m. of December 29, 1896 until his execution was perhaps the most controversial in his biography, for the divisive claims—like his supposed retraction and Catholic marriage with Bracken—allegedly occurred within this time frame.
Standard biography nonetheless states that at 6 a.m. of December 29, Judge Advocate Dominguez formally read the death sentence to Rizal. At about 7 a.m., he was transferred to either his ‘death cell’ or ‘prison chapel’. He was visited by Jesuit priests, Miguel Saderra Mata and Luis Viza.
They brought the medal of the Ateneo’s Marian Congregation of which Rizal was a member and the wooden statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus he had carved in the school. Rizal put the wooden image on his table while he rejected the medal saying “Im little of a Marian, Father.” (“Last Hours of Rizal”).
At 8 a.m., the priest Antonio Rosell arrived, after his co-priest Viza left. Rizal shared his breakfast with Rosell. Later, Lt. Andrade came and Rizal thanked his defense lawyer. Santiago Mataix of the Spanish newspaper ‘El Heraldo de Madrid’ interviewed Rizal at about 9 a.m. Then came the priest Federico Faura at about 10 a.m. He advised Rizal to forget about his resentment and marry Josephine canonically. The two had heated discussion about religion as witnessed by Rosell (“Last Hours of Rizal”).
Two other priests, Jose Vilaclara and Vicente Balaguer (missionary in Dapitan) also visited Rizal at about 11 a.m. The Jesuits tried to convince Rizal to write a retraction. Though still believing in the Holy Scriptures, Rizal supposedly refused to retract his anti-Catholic views, exclaiming, “Look, Fathers, if I should assent to all you say and sign all you want me to, just to please you, neither believing nor feeling, I would be a hypocrite and would then be offending God.” (Bantug, p. 148).
At 12 noon, Rizal was left alone in his cell. He had his lunch, read the Bible, and meditated. About this time, Balaguer reported to the Archbishop that only a little hope remained that Rizal would retract (“Last Hours of Rizal”).
Refusing to receive visitors for the meantime, Rizal probably finished his last poem at this moment. Rizal also wrote to Blumentritt his last letter in which he called the Austrian scholar “my best, my dearest friend”.
He then had a talk with priests Estanislao March and Vilaclara at about 2 p.m. Balaguer then returned to Rizal’s cell at 3:30 p.m. and allegedly discussed (again) about Rizal’s retraction (Zaide, p. 265). Rizal then wrote letters and dedications and rested for short.
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At 4 p.m., the sorrowful Doña Teodora and Jose’s sisters came to see the sentenced Rizal. The mother was not allowed a last embrace by the guard though her beloved son, in quiet grief, managed to press a kiss on her hand. Dominguez is said to have been moved with compassion at the sight of Rizal’s kneeling before his mother and asking forgiveness.
As the dear visitors were leaving, Jose handed over to Trinidad an alcohol cooking stove, a gift from the Pardo de Taveras, whispering to her in a language which the guards could not comprehend, “There is something in it.” That ‘something’ was Rizal’s elegy now known as “Mi Ultimo Adios.”
The Dean of the Manila Cathedral, Don Silvino Lopez Tuñon, came to exchange some views with Rizal at about 5:30 p.m. Balaguer and March then left, leaving Vilaclara andTuñon in Rizal’s cell. As Rosell was leaving at about 6 p.m., Josephine Bracken arrived in Fort Santiago. Rizal called for her and they emotionally talked to each other (“Last Hours of Rizal”).
At 7 p.m. , Faura returned and convinced Rizal to trust him and other Ateneo professors. After some quiet moments, Rizal purportedly confessed to Faura (“Last Hours of Rizal”).
Rizal then took his last supper at about 8 p.m. and attended to his personal needs. He then told Dominguez that he had forgiven his enemies and the military judges who sentenced him to death. At about 9 or 9:30 p.m., Manila’s Royal Audiencia Fiscal Don Gaspar Cestaño came and had an amiable talk with Rizal.
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Historian Gregorio F. Zaide alleged that at 10 p.m. Rizal and some Catholic priests worked on the hero’s retraction (Zaide & Zaide, pp. 265-266). Supposedly, Balaguer brought to Rizal a retraction draft made by Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda (1890-1903) but Rizal did not like it for being long. A shorter retraction made by Jesuit Pio Pi was then offered to Rizal which he allegedly liked.
So it is said that he wrote his retraction renouncing freemasonry and his anti-Catholic ideas. Zaide nonetheless admitted that the supposed retraction is now a (very) controversial document. For many reasons, Rizal’s assumed retraction and his supposed church marriage with Bracken have been considered highly dubious by many Rizal scholars.
Rizal then spent the night resting until the crack of dawn of December, perhaps praying and meditating once in a while. Zaide however alleged that at 3 a.m., Rizal heard Mass, confessed sins, and took Communion.
At about 4 a.m., he picked up the book ‘Imitation of Christ’ by Thomas a Kempis, read, and meditated. At 5 a.m. he washed up, attended to his personal needs, read the Bible, and contemplated.
For breakfast, he was given three boiled eggs. Rizal’s grandniece Asuncion Lopez-Rizal Bantug mentioned “three soft-boiled eggs” and narrated that Rizal ate two of them (Bantug, pp. 151-152).
Known historian Ambeth R. Ocampo, on the other hand, wrote “three hard-boiled eggs” and related that Rizal “did not have any breakfast” (Ocampo, p. 227). Both historians however wrote that Rizal placed the boiled egg (or eggs) to a cell corner, saying in effect, “This is for the rats, let them celebrate likewise!”
Afterward, Rizal wrote letters, one addressed to his family and another to Paciano. To his family, he partly wrote, “I ask you for forgiveness for the pain I cause you … I die resigned, hoping that with my death you will be left in peace…”
He also left this message to his sisters: “I enjoin you to forgive one another… Treat your old parents as you would like to be treated by your children later. Love them very much in my memory.” To Paciano, he partially wrote, “I am thinking now how hard you have worked to give me a career … I know that you have suffered much on my account, and I am sorry.”
Though some accounts state that Bracken was forbidden from seeing Rizal on this fateful day, Zaide wrote that at 5:30 a.m., she and Rizal’s sister Josefa came. The couple was said to have embraced for the last time and Rizal gave to Josephine the book ‘Imitation of Christ’ on which he wrote the dedication:
“To my dear and unhappy wife, Josephine/ December 30th, 1896/ Jose Rizal”.
Check Out: The Colorful Love Affairs of Dr. Jose Rizal by Jensen DG. MañebogBefore Rizal made his death march to Bagumbayan, he managed to pen his last letters to his beloved parents. To Don Francisco, he wrote, “Pardon me for the pain which I repay you … Good bye, Father, goodbye…”. Perhaps told by the authorities that the march was about to begin, Rizal managed to write only the following to his mother:
To my very dear Mother, Sra. Dña. Teodora Alonso 6 o’clock in the morning, December 30, 1896. Jose Rizal
At 6:30 a.m., Rizal in black suit and black bowler hat, tied elbow to elbow, began his slow walk to Bagumbayan. He walked along with his defense lawyer, Andrade, and two Jesuit priests, March and Vilaclara. In front of them were the advance guard of armed soldiers and behind them were another group of military men.
The sound of a trumpet signaled the start of the death march and the muffled sound of drums served as the musical score of the walk.
Early in that morning, plenty of people had eagerly lined the streets. Some were sympathetic to him, others—especially the Spaniards—wanted nothing less than to see him die. Some observed that Rizal kept keenly looking around and “it was believed that his family or the Katipuneros would make a last-minute effort to spring him from the trap” (Ocampo, p. 228).
Once in a while, Rizal conversed with the priests, commenting on things like his happy years in the Ateneo as they passed by Intramuros. Commenting on the clear morning, he was said to have uttered something like, “What a beautiful morning! On days like this, I used to talk a walk here with my sweetheart.”
After some minutes, they arrived at the historic venue of execution. Filipino soldiers were deliberately chosen to compose the firing squad. Behind them stood their Spanish counterparts, ready to execute them also should they decline to do the job.
There was just a glitch in the proceeding as Rizal refused to kneel and declined the traditional blindfold. Maintaining that he was not a traitor to his country and to Spain, he even requested to face the firing squad. After some sweet-talk, Rizal agreed to turn his back to the firing squad but requested that he be shot not in the head—but in the small of the back instead.
When agreement had been reached, Rizal thankfully shook the hand of his defense lawyer. The military physician then asked permission to feel the pulse of the man who had only a few minutes to live and the doctor was startled to find it normal. Before leaving Rizal in his appointed place, the priests offered him a crucifix to kiss “but he turned his head away and silently prepared for his death” (Ambeth Ocampo, p. 228).
When the command had been given, the executioners’ guns barked at once. Rizal yelled Christ’s two last words “Consummatum est!” (“It is finished!”) simultaneously with his final effort to twist his bullet-pierced body halfway around.Facing the sky, Jose Rizal fell on the ground dead at exactly 7:03 in the morning of December 30, 1896 … continue reading
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