Father JOSE P. BURGOS

The young and most brilliant of the martyr-priest of 1872
February 9, 1837 - February 17, 1872

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

His first teacher was his mother, who taught him how to read and write. At the age of 17, he finished Bachiller en Artes with honors, studied priesthood at the University of Santo Tomas and said his first mass at the Parroquia del Sagrario de Intramuros.

Father Burgos earned the title "Champion of the Cause of Filipino Clergy" yet his courageous efforts irked the Spanish friars. Thus, when the Cavite mutiny took place in 1872, the Spanish authorities arrested him together with Fathers Gomez and Zamora for they were thought to have incited the revolution. They were executed at Fort Santiago, Bagumbayan, now Luneta, on February 15, 1872.