The Rizal

Retraction
Group 3 (BSN 3A)
 Historical Context

● Dr. Jose Rizal was sentenced to death by a Spanish court martial after being

implicated as the leader of the Philippine Revolution.

● He died by firing squad at Luneta Park on December 30, 1896

 Historical Context

● Accounts exists that he converted to Catholicism after persuasion of Jesuits priests.

● It was doubted by Rizal’s family and friends.

● The supposed retraction of his Masonic ideals with Rizal’s signature was found but until

today, it remains a continuous debate whether the document was forged or real.
DID RIZAL
RETRACT?
 Timeline
July 3, 1892 Rizal established a reform society called La Liga Filipina

July, 6, 1892 Rizal was captured and exiled at Dapitan.

August 1896 The Philippine Revolution started and Rizal was accused to be the leader
of KKK and was sentenced to death

December Fr. Pio Pi received a commission together with other Jesuit fathers, from
28, 1896 Archbishop Nozaleda for the spiritual care of Rizal

December Father Vilaclara and Fr. Balaguer went to Fort Santiago and Fr. Balaguer
29, 1896 conceive that Rizal must make a retraction of errors and a profession of
Catholic faith before ministering the Sacraments to him.
 Timeline
December ● Rizal died by a firing squad. after Dr. Rizal's execution on in
30, 1896 Bagumbayan, (later called Luneta and now Rizal Park).
● His body was secretly buried at the Paco Cemetery with no
identification on his grave.
● Rizal’s body is not made on the page those buried on December
30, 1896, where there were as many as six entries, but on a special
page wherein appear those buried by special orders of the
authorities. He was considered among persons who died impenitent
and did not receive spiritual aid. (Palma’s Analysis)

August 17, The remains of Dr. Jose Rizal were exhumed from the Paco Cemetery and
1898 taken to his house on Estraude Street in Binondo, Manila where his
father, Francisco Mercado, died in January of the same year.
Author: Father Vicente Balaguer
● Fr. Vicente Balaguer, a Jesuit priest,

claimed that he persuaded Rizal to

denounce Masonry and return to the

Catholic fold during his last hours as

evidenced by his documentation of the

said event. He gave it to Father Pio Pi,

who brought it to the Palace and handed

it to Archbishop Nozaleda.
Author: Father Pio Pi

● Father Pio Pi, a Jesuit Superior, made a

shorter retraction document (the

version that Rizal allegedly copied). He

was involved only in securing the

retraction document from the

archbishop of Manila, Bernardino

Nozaleda. He did not visit Rizal.

 Primary Sources:
Fr. Balaguer Fr. Pio Pi

- At about ten o'clock in the

morning (December 29,
1896), Father Vilaclara and I
went to Fort Santiago, where -(December 28, 1896) I received
the chapel cell of the convict a the commision, which
was. Archbishop Nozaleda entrusted
- the Archbishop sent to the Jesuit Fathers for the
his commission to the spiritual care of the convict.
Ateneo
- Before going to the Fort, I went
to to the Palace in order to - both Jesuit priests
receive orders and instructions
from the Prelate. The - Even though I myself, who
Archbishop gave me the formula had not been acquainted
of retraction and profession of personally with Rizal, did
faith, composed by Reverend not visit him.
Father Pio Pi
 Primary Sources:
Fr. Balaguer Fr. Pio Pi

- At three o'clock or a little - All the Fathers who

past three, I returned to the remianed with him
Royal Fort where Father during his stay in the
Vilaclara had remained, and chapel or who
I resumed the discussion accompanied him to
with Dr. Rizal, that lasted Bagumbayan, the place
- Rizal edited the
until dusk of the execution, went
retraction made by
there at my request or
-Then I went to the Ateneo and Fr. Pio Pi
with my knowledge, and
thence I went with Father Viza to they kept me informed
the Palace. There I reported on of all the happenings.
the condition of the convict, who
offered some hope for
conversion, since he had asked - The one which I had made
for the formula of retraction. a shorter although
Hence, I requested the Prelate for conclusive and this pleased
the formula him.
 Primary Sources:
Fr. Balaguer Fr. Pio Pi

- It was already night when I arrived

at the Fort. I found Dr. Rizal
impatient. He asked for the formula
of the Prelate. This came at last, at
- This declaration
about ten o'clock;
or retraction was
signed together with
- "Father, do not proceed. That Dr. Rizal by Senor
style is different from mine. I Fresno, Chief of the
cannot sign that, because it Picket, and Senor
should be understood that I am Moure, Adjutant of
writing it myself." the Plaza

- I brought out then the shorter

and more concise formula of
Father Pi.
 Primary Sources:
Fr. Balaguer Fr. Pio Pi

- "That style is simple as

mine. Don't bother,
Father, to read it all.
Dictate what I ought to
profess and express and
I shall write, making in
any case some remarks." -Rizal read his own
retraction

- He finished the writing, and

thus it remained. It was half
past eleven; it was dated
December the twenty-ninth….
 Primary Sources:
Fr. Balaguer Fr. Pio Pi

- In the presence of the Fathers,

of the Judge Advocate, of the
Chief of the Picket, of the
Adjutant of the Plaza, of three
artillery officers, Rizal asked
me for his retraction and
profession of faith.

-Before Rizal reached

Bagumbayan, I went to the
Ateneo and delivered the
aforementioned document to
Father Pio Pi, who that very day
brought it to the Palace and
handed it to Archbishop
Nozaleda
Analysis
Author: Rafael Palma
● Palma was a lawyer, writer, educator

and also a politician. He wrote the

Biografia de Rizal, a work on the life of

Jose Rizal which won him a literary

contest in 1938 (sponsored by the

Commonwealth Government). The

story of Rizal’s “ALLEGED” retraction is

found in chapter 32 and 33 with

Palma’s analysis in the latter chapter.

Important Issues
Rafael Palma’s analysis reveals

● Secrecy of the retraction document

● Denied petitions of Rizal’s family for the

copy of the document of retraction and the

marriage certificate

● Secrecy of Rizal’s burial.

● No masses were said for his soul or funeral

held by Catholics.
Important Issues

Rafael Palma’s analysis reveals

● Rizal was buried in the ground without any

cross or stone to mark his grave

● No moral motive for the conversion

Important Issues
AUTHOR: Austin Coates

● Assistant Colonial Secretary and Magistrate in

Hong Kong in 1950

● First study on Rizal was on the latter’s year-long

stay in Hong Kong (1891 - 1892)

● Rizal: Philippine Nationalist and Martyr - the first

Rizal biography written by a European (Coates

was a British author)

 Important Issues

Austin Coates’s analysis reveals:

● The morning after the execution the newspapers of Manila and Madrid recorded the

event, and announced that on the eve of his death, Rizal had retracted his religious

errors, adjured freemasonry, and in the last hours of his life had married Josephine

Bracken. In most newspapers the text of a letter of retraction supposedly written by

Rizal was printed in full. Certainly there was no signed letter of retraction. Rizal knew

too well the damage such a letter would do him, besides which he believed before God

he had nothing to retract…

 Important Issues

Austin Coates’s analysis reveals:

● Rizal’s family and his wide circle of personal friends, most of whom were abroad,

dubbed it… an ecclesiastical fraud.

● What appears with complete certainty is that neither Pio Pi y Vidal nor any of the Jesuits

of probity believed that Rizal had retracted and died confessed. Had Vilaclara and

March, who were with Rizal at his execution, been satisfied that there had been a

retraction, it is inconceivable that they would not have given him Christian burial.
 Important Issues
Austin Coates’s analysis reveals:

● If he had retracted he would certainly have so in his 6 a.m. communication to his

mother, knowing the consolation it would have given her.

● Balaguer had in fact damaged the Church’s case. Worse than this, he had unwittingly

revealed his own fraud. In his account, he made no mention of the Ultimo Adios.

hereby revealing the truth, which was that he was not within Fort Santiago during the

middle of that last night (Dec. 29, 1896), and had no knowledge of what was then

taking place. and only a glance at the Ultimo Adios is needed to show that it would

have taken several hours to write…

Importance of the Topic
Historians have made investigations on the “credibility” of Rizal’s
Retraction. Some say that it is out of character for Rizal to retract his
statements about the church when he had very strong ideas. Some
would argue that he only retracted from the freemasonry but not
from his nationalistic works.

The retraction of Rizal is an important discussion to study because if

Rizal did indeed retract his statements, then that would mean that
Rizal takes everything that he ever wrote or said about the Spanish.
Which means that Rizal’s ideas of nationalism, independence and
freedom would also be retracted as well.
Importance of the Topic
It would also mean that he denounces everything that he has stood
up for, his life’s work. It would also mean that the Friars who were
talked about in a few of Rizal’s novels and works would be able to
“save face”.
 GROUP
PERSPECTIVE
● There are inconsistencies in Balaguer’s document regarding Rizal’s
retraction notably the marriage license of Rizal and Josephine
Bracken because Josephine’ whereabouts during the days of the
execution is not known. Additionally, When Josephine was trying
to claim Rizal’s library from his friend Jose Basa, she was asked
to produce their marriage certificate as proof. She stopped the
claim then, the assumption of which is that she can not produce
any as there really was no marriage
 GROUP
PERSPECTIVE
● We also believe that there is extensive evidence
in those who doubted the story of the retraction.

● The "original" text was discovered in the

archdiocesan archives on May 18, 1935, after it

disappeared for thirty-nine years from the
afternoon of the day when Rizal was shot. How
did this happen ?
THANK YOU
By: Group 3 of BSN-3A

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