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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.
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 June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna, Rizal was seventh of 11 children. He started his schooling in the neighboring town of Biñan.
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 Madrid, Spain
where he studied Medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid, earning
the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He also studied at the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg.
According to Fajardo, at the time Rizal was studying in Biñan and Manila, Masonry was relatively unknown in the Philippines. Masonic lodges were very few and most of their members were Spaniards.
However, Rizal’s half-uncle, Jose Alberto Alonzo was a Mason and lived in Spain.
Alonzo was made a Knight of the Order of Carlos III and later King
Amadeo, also a Mason, made him to Knight Commander of the Order of
Isabel the Catholic.
Rizal’s elder brother, Paciano, also has several links with Spanish Masons in the Philippines during the latter’s student days in Manila.
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 Madrid, his ship docked at Naples on June 11, 1882.
He took a coach for a tour and he saw numerous posters put up by Masons
announcing the death of Giuseppe Garibaldi, their Grand Master.
“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 Madrid
under the Gran Oriente de España. So far, there is no exact date as to
when Rizal was initiated but based on a photograph of him wearing the
habiliments of the Mason, historians deduced that he must have been
around 23 years old then.
“In accordance with Masonic practices then observed in Spain, Rizal selected a symbolic name by which he was to be known - Hechose “Dimasalang,” Fajardo said.
“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 Madrid, he proceeded to France in 1885 to specialize in Ophthalmology. He then moved to Heildelberg in Germany for further studies.
In 1889, he also joined the all-Filipino Solidaridad Lodge No. 53 in Madrid founded by Marcelo del Pilar, Julio Llorente, Antonio Luna, Teodoro Sandico and others.