rizal

• Jose Rizal went to Manila to begin his bachillerato (high school) four months after the martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za, and with his mother still in prison
• Rizal's enrollment at the Ateneo


  1. Took the entrance exam at the College of San Juan de Letran, but received a cold welcome

  2. Returned home, his father and Paciano had second thoughts due to their anti-government sentiments

  3. Enrolled at the Ateneo, a school by the Spanish Jesuits, known for their liberal views

  4. The college registrar, Fr. Magin Ferrando, refused to admit Jose due to being late for registration and being sickly and undersized

  5. Paciano contacted his underground friends for help, and Manuel Xerez Burgos intervened on Jose's behalf, and the Ateneo Jesuits reluctantly agreed to accept Rizal
• Ateneo Municipal


  • One of many small private colleges inside the walled city of Intramuros, the center of Spanish power in Asia
  • At night, all the indios, itinerant Chinese peddlers, and other non-Spaniards exited out, and its huge metal gates secured inside the ruling elites of Spanish friars and civil and military officials and their families
• Jesuits


  A highly disciplined military-religious order called "Sociedad de Jesus" during the Counter-Reformation, famous for fighting religious wars and founding educational and technical missions
• The Jesuits were the third religious order to come to the Philippines in 1581 and pioneered towns mainly in the Visayas and Mindanao
• The Jesuits were generally exempted from charges of "frailocracy" hurled on the colonial Spanish religious order, but were expelled from the Philippines from 1768 to 1859 as part of their persecution in European countries and colonies
• In 1859, the Jesuits returned to the Philippines, and their missions were handed back to them. In exchange, the Spanish friars who lost their missions to the Jesuits were given parishes administered by secular Filipino priests
• Ateneo system of education


  • More advanced than other colleges, trained the character of the student by rigid discipline and religious instruction, promoted physical education, language, culture, humanities, math and science, offered technical and vocational courses
• Ateneo's competitive system


  1. Students divided into "Roman Empire" (internos/boarders) and "Carthaginian Empire" (externos/non-boarders)

  2. Each empire had ranks, with the best student as emperor, second best as tribune, etc.

  3. Students could challenge any officer in the empire to answer questions, with the opponent losing if they made 3 mistakes

  4. The two groups were in constant competition for supremacy, with distinctive banners and a system of flag placement based on defeats
• Rizal began at the Ateneo in June 1872 as a newcomer and was assigned to the Carthaginian externos team, but quickly progressed to become the "emperor" of his class by the end of the first month
• Rizal's scholastic records at the Ateneo from 1872-1877 showed he received excellent grades in all his subjects
• During a visit to his mother in prison

  Rizal interpreted her dream to mean she would be released in 3 months, which came true
• During the summer vacation in 1874, Rizal began to take an interest in novels, particularly The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, and also read non-fiction works like Cesar Cantu's Universal History and Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor Jagor
• She compared him to the youthful Joseph in the Bible

  In his ability to interpret dreams
• Teenage interest in reading

  Began to take an interest in novels during the summer vacation in 1874 in Calamba
• Rizal's favorite novel


  • The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
• Rizal's boyish imagination


  Was stirred up by the sufferings of Edmond Dantes (the hero) who planned his impossible escape from the prison dungeon and found a buried treasure on the rocky island of Monte Cristo
• Rizal's reading


  Not only fiction, but also non-fiction
• Non-fiction work Rizal read

  • Cesar Cantu's historical work entitled Universal History
• Rizal's opinion on Cesar Cantu's work


  It was of great help in his studies and he could win more prizes in Ateneo
• Rizal's reading of Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor Jagor


  He was impressed by Dr. Jagor's keen observations of the defects of Spanish colonization and his prophecy that someday Spain would lose the Philippines and that America would come to succeed it as a colonizer
• Rizal came to meet Dr. Jagor in person


  The latter in turn admired Rizal
• Rizal returned to Ateneo for his junior year


  June 1874
• Shortly after the opening of classes, his mother came to visit him in Manila to personally tell him that she was a free woman again, just as he had prophesied from the dream</b>
• Despite the family happiness, Rizal did not make an excellent showing in his studies because his spoken Spanish was not fluent
• His grades remained excellent in all subjects, but he won only one medal in Latin and failed to win the medal in Spanish which was naturally received by a Spaniard
• When Rizal returned to Calamba for the summer vacation, he wrote in his diary that he was not impressed with his own scholastic work
• Rizal became an interno in the Ateneo, living in the school dormitory in Intramuros


  June 16, 1875
• Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez, S.J.

  Rizal's favorite mentor and lifelong friend
• Rizal's description of Fr. Sanchez: '"Fr. Sanchez is a profound observer, but slightly pessimistic and always thinks of the bad side of things. When we were in college, we referred to him as a dark spirit. The students used to call him paniki (bat)."'
• Fr. Sanchez's influence on Rizal

  He inspired the young student to study harder and to write poetry. He became an admirer and friend to the thin Calamba lad, because he recognized the genius in Rizal
• Rizal responded with the highest affection and respect for Fr. Sanchez
• Rizal's description of Fr. Sanchez: '"a model of uprightness, earnestness, and love for the advancement of his pupils."'
• Inspired by Fr. Sanchez, Rizal resumed his studies with new enthusiasm. He topped all his classmates in all subjects and won 5 medals at the end of the school term
• When he returned to Calamba for his summer vacation, he proudly gave his parents his 5 medals and excellent grades

  March 1876
• For his last year at the Ateneo, Rizal continued to excel in all subjects. He finished his last year at the Ateneo in a blaze of glory and obtained the highest grades in all subjects – philosophy, physics, biology, chemistry, languages, mineralogy, etc
• Rizal


  The most brilliant Atenean of his time, truly became the "pride of the Jesuits"
• Rizal, who was 16 years old, received the degree of Bachelor of Arts with highest honors

  March 23, 1877
• On his last night at the school dormitory, he could not sleep. Early the following morning, the day of graduation, he prayed fervently at the college chapel and offered his life to God and asked for protection because he was scared of stepping out into the world, which filled him with so much terror
• Rizal


  • Not a mere bookworm, he took part actively in extracurricular activities
  • An "emperor" inside the classroom, he was a campus leader outside
  • Active member and later secretary of the Marian Congregation
  • Marian devotee of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the college patroness
  • Member of the School of Academy of Spanish Literature and Academy of Natural Sciences