Jose Rizal an ‘int’l Mason,’ says book
One of the least known facets of the life of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, whose 111th death anniversary is being commemorated today, was his being a member of a worldwide fraternity called Freemasonry.
According to Filipino historian Reynold Fajardo, in his book “Dimasalang: The Masonic Life of Dr. Jose Rizal,” Rizal was not only a mason, he was the only one among the leaders of the revolutionary movement during the Spanish era who “deserved to be called an international Mason since he was a member of various Masonic lodges in Spain, Germany, France and possibly, England.”
Born to educated and middle-class parents— Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso Realonda—in
He later went to Manila and attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1877, after which he enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and then in the university’s Faculty of Philosophy and Letters until 1882.
Rizal then traveled alone to
According to Fajardo, at the time Rizal was studying in Biñan and
However, Rizal’s half-uncle, Jose Alberto Alonzo was a Mason and lived in
Rizal’s elder brother, Paciano, also has several links with Spanish Masons in the
The first documented exposure of Rizal to Masonry was in 1882, Fajardo said.
At that time, he had already completed his fourth year as a medical student at UST and needed just one more year to graduate “but the urge to study abroad proved overwhelming.”
On his way to
“Rizal must have been impressed because he later wrote about what he saw in a letter to his parents and brothers. That letter marked the first time Rizal made a written mention of Masonry, but it would not be the last,” Fajardo said.
Rizal joined the Acacia Lodge No. 9 in
“In accordance with Masonic practices then observed in
“Christianity, the essence and sum total of all religions, reflected in her virtues all the merits of the others and sanctified humility, stoicism, purity, adding to these, like a true Oriental, charity—a virtue that later Mohammedanism elevated to a sublime height,” a portion of Rizal’s Masonic speech in Spanish read.
After completing his studies in
In 1889, he also joined the all-Filipino Solidaridad Lodge No. 53 in
In 1891, as his second novel, El Filibusterismo was being printed in Ghent, Belgium, he applied for admission in the Temple de L’Honneur et de L’Union, a lodge in Paris, France that had Dr. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Valentin Ventura and Dr. Ariston Baustista as among its members, Fajardo said.
The Rizal Day 2007 National Organizing Committee has tied up with local government units for the commemoration of Rizal’s death anniversary today.
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Calamba Laguna Mayor Joaquin Chipeco, Jr. and Dapitan City Mayor Dominador Jalosjos, Jr. will lead wreath-laying rites and other activities in their respective areas. - With Evelyn Macairan, Roel Pareno
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