BURGOS, Fr. Jose

The youngest among the three Filipino martyr-priests (Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora), Father Jose Burgos was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on February 9, 1837. His parents were Jose Burgos and Florencia Garcia.

Young Jose's first teacher was his mother who taught him how to read and write. After finishing his elementary grades in Vigan in 1849, he went to Manila and enrolled at the San Juan de Letran College where he excelled in all subjects. At the age of 17, he finished Bachiller en Artes with honors. He studied for the priesthood at the University of Santo Tomas and said his first mass at the Parroquia del Sagrario de Intramuros.

For his courageous defense of the cause of the Filipino priesthood, Father Jose Burgos earned for himself the name "Champion of the Cause of Filipino Clergy" but incurred the hatred of the Spanish friars. Thus when the Cavite mutiny broke out in 1872, the Spanish authorities arrested him together with Father Gomez and Father Zamora, charging them of having incited the revolution. After a mock trial at Fort Santiago on February 15, 1872, they were sentenced to die by means of the garrote (strangulation by an iron collar tightened with a screw). On February 17, 1872, they were executed in Bagumbayan (now the Luneta).