CHAPTER 4:

TRIUMPHS IN ATENEO,
1872-1877
 Jose was sent to Manila four months after the martyrdom
of Gom-Bur-Za and with Dona Teodora still in prison. He
studied in the Ateneo Municipal, a college under the
supervision of the Spanish Jesuits.

Ateneo Municipal
*Bitter rival of the Dominican-owned College of San Juan de
Letran
*Formerly the Escuela Pia(Charity School)- for poor boys in
Manila established in 1817
*In 1859- name was changed to Ateneo Municipal by the
Jesuits and later became the Ateneo de Manila.
 Rizal Enters the Ateneo:
June 10, 1872- Jose, accompanied by Paciano, went to Manila to take the
entrance examinations on Christian Doctrine, arithmetic, and reading at the
College of San Juan de Letran, and passed them. His father was the first one who
wished him to study at Letran but he changed his mind and decided to send Jose
at Ateneo instead.
• Father Magin Ferrando, college registrar of Ateneo Municipal, refused to admit
Jose because:
1. He was late for registration and;
2. He was sickly and undersized for his age (11 years old).
• Upon the intercession of Manuel Xeres Burgos, nephew of Father Burgos, he
was admitted at Ateneo. Jose adopted the surname “Rizal” at the Ateneo
because their family name “Mercado” had come under suspicion of the Spanish
authorities.
• Ateneo was located in Intramuros, within the walls of Manila. He boarded in a
house on Caraballo Street, 25 min walk from the college. The boarding house
was owned by Titay, who owd Rizal family P300. Jose boarded there to collect
part of the debt.
Jesuits System of Education:

Jesuits trained the character of the student by rigid discipline, humanities

and religious instruction. They heard Mass early in the morning before the
beginning of daily class. Classes were opened and closed with prayers.

Students were divided into two groups:

• Roman Empire- consisting of the internos (boarders) with red banners
• Carthaginian Empire- composed of the externos (non-boarders) with blue
banners
Each of these empires had its rank. Students fought for positions. With 3
mistakes, opponent’s position could lose his position.
1st best: “emperor” 2nd best: “tribune”
3rd best: “Decurion” 4th best: “centurion” 5th best: “Standard-bearer

Ateneo students uniform is consisted of “hemp-fabric trousers” and “striped

Rizal’s First Year in Ateneo (1872-1873)
• Rizal’s first professor in Ateneo was Fr. Jose Bech.
• Rizal was placed at the bottom of the class since he was a
newcomer and knows little Spanish.He was an externo
(Carthaginians), occupying the end of the line. But at the end
of the month, he become “emperor” of his Empire. He was
the brightest pupil in the whole class, and he was awarded a
prize, a religious prize.
• Rizal took private lessons in Santa Isabel College during
noon recesses to improve his Spanish language paying three
pesos for those extra lessons.
• He placed second at the end of the year, athough all his
grades were still marked “Excellent”
Summer Vacation (1873)

Rizal didn’t enjoy his summer because

his mother was in prison so
Neneng(Saturnina) brought him to
Tanawan. But without telling his father,
he went to Santa Cruz to visit her
mother in prison. He told her of his
brilliant grades.
After summer, he returned to Manila
and now boarded inside Intramuros at
No. 6 Magallanes Street. Dona Pepay,
who had a widowed daughter and 4
sons, was his landlady.
Second Year in Ateneo (1873-74)

Rizal lost the class leadership. But he

repented and even studied harder,
once more became “emperor”. He
received excellent grades in all
subjects and a gold medal.
 Prophecy of Mother’s Release

Dona Teodora told her son of her

dream the previous night. Rizal,
interpreting the dream, told her that
she would be released from prison in
3 month’s time. It became true.
Dona Teodora likened his son to the
youthful Joseph in the Bible in his
ability to interpret dreams.
Teenage Interest in Reading

The first favorite novel of Rizal was The Count of

Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. His boyish
imagination was stirred by the sufferings of
Edmond Dantes (the hero) in prison, his
spectacular escape from the dungeon of
Chateau d’If, his finding a buried treasure in the
rocky island of Monte Cristo, and his dramatic
revenge on his enemies who had wronged him.
Rizal alos read non-fiction. He persuaded his father
to buy a costly set of Cesar Cantu’s historical work
entitled Universall History.

He also read Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor

Jagor, a German scientist-traveler who visited Phil in
1859-60.He was impressed by:

1. Jagor’s keen observations of the defects of

Spanish colonization.
2. His prophecy that someday Spain would lose the
Phil and that Anerica would come to succeed her as
colonizer.
Third Year in Ateneo (1875-76)

June 16, 1875- He became an interno in Ateneo.

Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez, one of his professor,

inspired him to study harder and write poetry. Rizal’s
best professor in Ateneo. Rizal described him as
“model of uprightness, earnestness, and love for the
advancement of his pupils”.

He returned to Calamba with 5 medals and excellent

ratings.
Last Year in Ateneo (1876-77)

Rizal- The most brilliant

Atenean of his time, and was
truly “the pride of the Jesuits”.
Graduation with Highest Honors

March 23, 1877- Rizal, 16 years old, received

from his Alma Mater, Ateneo Municipal, the
degree of Bachelor of Arts, with highest honors.

The night before graduation, he could not

sleep. Early morning on the day of his
graduation, he prayed to the Virgin to
“commend his life and protect him as he step
into the world”.
Extra-Curricular Activities in Ateneo
• He was an active member, later secretary, of Marian
Congregation, a religious society. He was accepted because of
his academic brilliance and devotion to Our Lady of Immaculate
Conception, the college patroness.

• He is also a member of the Academy of Spanish Literature and

the Academy of Natural Sciences.

• He studied painting under Agustin Saez, a famous painter, and

sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus.

• He continued his physical training under hi sports-minded Tio

Manuel.
Sculptural Works in Ateneo
He carved an image of The Virgin Mary on a piece of
batikuling (Philippine hardwood) with his pocket-knife.
The Jesuits fathers were amazed.
Father Lleonart requested him to carve for him an
image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He intended to
take the image with him in Spain but forgot to do so.
So the Ateneo boarders placed it on the door of their
dormitory. It plays a significant part in Rizal’s last hours
at Fort Santiago.
 Anecdotes on Rizal, the Atenean

Felix M. Roxas- He related an incident

of Rizal’s schooldays in the Ateneo
which reveals the hero’s resignation to
pain and forgiveness.
Manuel Xeres Burgos- his anecdote on
Rizal illustrates his predilection to helo
the helpless at the risk of his own life.
Poems Written in Ateneo

Mi Primera Inspiracion (My First Inspiration)- first written poem of

Rizal, which was dedicated to his mother on her birthday. He wrote
it when he was 14 years old.
In 1875, inspired by Fr. Sanchez, he wrote more poems, as such:
1. Felicitacion (Felicitation)
2. El Embarque: Himno a la Flota de Magallanes ( The Departure:
Hymn to Magellan’s Fleet)
3. Y Es Espanol: Elcano, el Primero en dar la Vuelta al Mundo (And
He is Spanish: Elcano, the Fist to Circumnavigate the World)
4. El Combate: Urbiztondo, Terror de Jolo (The Battle: Urbiztondo,
Terror of Jolo)
In 1876, he wrote poems on religion, education memories and war.
(e.g. In Memory of my Town)
Rizal’s Poem on Education

1. Through Education Our Motherland

Recieves Light- education plays in the
progree and welfare of a nation
2. The Intimate Alliance Between
Religion and Good Education- showed
that ‘Education without God is not true
education.’
Rizal’s Religious Poem

1. Al Nino Jesus (To the Child

Jesus)- written when he was 14
years old, expressing his Catholic
faith devotion.
2. A La Virgen Maria (To the Virgin
Mary)
Dramatic Work in Ateneo

Father Sanchez requested him to write

a drama based on the prose story of St.
Eustace the Martyr. He finished that
request on June 2, 1876 entitled San
Eustacio, Martir (St. Eustace, the
Martyr).
First Romance of Rizal
He experienced his first romance with Segunda Katigbak, a
pretty 14 year old Batanguena from Lipa.
One Sunday Rizal visited his maternal grandmother in Trozo,
Manila with his friend Mariano Katigbak. One of whom was an
attractive girl, who mysteriously caused his heart to palpitate
with strange ecstasy was Segunda. His grandmothers guests
ureged him to draw Segunda’s portrait. “From time to time,” he
reminisced,”she looked at me and I blushed”
Rizal came to know Segunda more intimately during weekly
visits to La Concordia College, where his sister was boarding
student. Olimpia and Segunda was a close friend. Theirs was
indeed “a love at first sight”. But Segunda was already engaged
to be married to Manuel Luz.