Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda

Also known as Dr. Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861
in a small town in the province of Laguna. He was baptized on
June 22, 1861 by Fr. Rufino Collantes in the Catholic Church
of Calamba Laguna. He was the 7th son of Teodora Alonzo
Quintos Realonda and Francisco Mercado. The brothers and
sisiters of Dr. Jose Rizal was Saturnina Mercado Hidalgo
(1850-1913), Paciano Mercado (1851-1930), Narcisa Mercado
Lopez (1852-1939), Olimpia Mercado Ubaldo (1855-1887),
Lucia Mercado Herbosa (1857-1919), Maria Mercado Cruz
(1859-1945), Conception (1862-1865), Josefa (1865-1945),
Trinidad (1868-1951), and Soledad (1870-1919).

Siblings relationship among Rizal children was

affectionately cordial. As a little boy, Rizal used to play games
with his sisters. But at the age of 3 he could recite the
alphabet, and at the age of 5 he began to make sketches with
his pencil and to mould in clay and wax objects which
attracted his fancy. At the age of 7, he attended school in
Calamba. And at this age Jose made his first trip to Manila. At
the age of 8 Rizal wrote his first poem entitled “SA AKING
MGA KABABATA”. After writing the poem to his fellow
children, Rizal who was still 8 years old, wrote his first
dramatic work which was a tagalog comedy. Age of 9, he was
seperated from his family. But in that age he go home and
never come back to Biñan.

In the year 1872, Rizal start to realize that Spaniards are

cruel and mean. That same year he took entrance exam on
Christian Doctrine. At the age of 15 he was a student of
Ateneo de Manila. On his first day of class in the ateneo, in
June 1872, Rizal first heard mass at the college chapel and
prayed fervently to God for guidance and success. When the
mass was finished, he went to his class, where he saw a great
number of boys, Spaniards, mestizos and Filipinos. Being a
newcomer and knowing little Spanish, Rizal was placed at the
bottom of the class. He was an externo, hence he was
assigned to the Carthaginians, Occupying then end of the
line. Afer the first week, the frail Calamba boy progressed
rapidly. At the end of the month, he became “emperor”. He
was the brightest pupil in the whole class, and he was
awarded a prize. He was proud of it because it was the first
prize he ever won at the Ateneo.

At the end of the school year in March 1873, Rizal

returned to Calamba for summer vacation. He did not
particularly enjoy his vacation because his mother was in
prison. Without telling his father, he went to Santa Cruz and
visited his mother in prison. He told her of his brilliant grades
at the Ateneo. She gladly embraced her favorite son. When
the summer vacation ended, Rizal returned to Manila for his
second year term in Ateneo. In his second year term nothing
unusual happened to Rizal, except that he repented having
neglected his studies the previous year simply because he
was offended by the teacher’s remarks. So, to regain his lost
class leadership, he studied harder. Once more he became
“emperor”.

June 1874, Rizal returned to the Ateneo de Manila for his

junior year. Shortly after the opening of the classes, his
mother arrived and joyously told him that she was released
from prison. He was so happy, of course, to see his mother
once more a free woman. However, despite the family
happiness, Rizal did not make an excellent showing in his
studies as in the previous year. His grades remained excellent
in all subjects, but he won only one medal- in Latin. He failed
to win the medal in Spanish because his spoken spanish was
not fluently sonorous. At the end of ths chol year he returned
to Calamba, but he himself was not impressed by his
scholastic work.

After a refreshing and happy summer vacation, Rizal

returned to Ateneo for his fourth year course. One of his
professors this time was Fr. Franscisco de Paula Sanchez a
great educator and scholar. He inspired the young Rizal to
study harder and to write poetry. Inspired by Fr. Sanchez,
Rizal resumed his studies with vigor and zest. He topped all
his classmates in all subjects and won 5 medals at the end of
the school term. He returned to Calamba for his summer
vacation and proudly offered his 5 medals and excellent
ratings to his parents. He was extremely happy, for he was
able to pay his “father somewhat for his sacrifices”.
 After the summer vacation, Rizal returned to Manila in
June 1876 for his last year in the Ateneo. His studies
continued to fare well. As a matter-of-fact, he excelled in all
subjects. The most brilliant Atenean of his time, he was truly
“the pride of the Jesuits”. Rizal finished his last year at the
Ateneo in a blaze of glory. He obtained the highest grades in
all subjects. He graduated at the head of his class.