Family Traditions

The Rizal familys traditions are bound by spirituality and firm moral ground. Everyday
they used to gather to pray the rosary. Their mother would often tell the children to gather
up so they can say their prayers together.

They were filled with obedience, virtue, as well as mutual respect and love for each other,
especially for their parents. The Rizal children addressed their parents as Tatay and
Nanay.

Hence, when Jose lost his little sister Concha in 1865, he grieved bitterly. For the first time,
according to him, he cried because of sorrow and love.

The children also learned a lot from their first teacher, their mother Dona Teodora. She
was loving, kind, and indulgent, but can be a true disciplinarian. There was actually one
occasion when Jose refused to wear a sinamay camisa since it was rough and coarse.
Because of his disobedience, his mother spanked him. Hence, he learned his lesson so well.

Aside from this, Dona Teodora also taught her children to read the Bible. She translated
those passages they did not understand to inculcate in them the value of spirituality and
goodness out of reading the Holy Scripture.

Family Members
A family of 13, they are paternally of Chinese ancestry and maternally descendants of a maharlika class. Jose Rizal
was a mestizo from both East and West with blood from native, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish races.

Francisco Mercado (b. May 11, 1818 d. January 5, 1898), the father of Jose Rizal and considered the patriarch
of the family, was a native of Bian, Laguna. He was an educated and industrious farmer who studied Latin
and philosophy at Colegio de San Jose in Manila. Of Chinese ancestry, his great grandfather Domingo Lam-
Co was a native of Chinchew (now Quanzhou), China who married the Filipina Ines de la Rosa. One of the
couples' children was Francisco Mercado, who later married Cerila Bernacha. Bernacha gave birth to Juan
Mercado who became Cerila Alejandro's husband and Francisco's father. Both Francisco's father, Juan, and
grandfather, Francisco, became Capitanes or town mayors of Bian. Upon the death of his mother, Francisco
moved to Calamba where he became a tenant and farmer of a large Dominican estate. On 28 June 1848, he
married Teodora Alonzo Realonda. In 1850 he petitioned the court to change the family name to Rizal, with
all their children being surnamed as such.
 Teodora Alonzo Realonda (b. November 8, 1826 d. August 16, 1911), a Manilea, was a highly
educated Filipina who graduated from the Colegio de Santa Rosa. Of Spanish and Japanese ancestry, Teodora
was a talented woman whose interests lay in literature, culture, and business, and was well-versed in Spanish.
She helped her husband in farming and in their business. She devoted herself to the children's education and
growth as morally-upright individuals. Teodora's lineage can be traced to Lakandula, the greatest ruler
of Tondo. Her great grandfather, who was of Japanese blood, was Eugenio Ursua (Ochoa). Her maternal
grandfather was Manuel de Quintos who was a popular lawyer in his time, while her paternal grandfather
was Cipriano Alonso who belonged to Bian's long list of Capitanes. Teodora was second child of Lorenzo
Alberto Alonzo, an engineer and a recipient of the most sought decoration, the Knight of the Grand Order of
Isabela the Catholic and Order of Carlos III; and Brigida de Quintos, a fair and well-educated lady. With her
vision failing in old age, her son took up medicine, specializing in opthalmologoy, in order to cure her.

Saturnina Rizal (1850 1913), also known as Neneng, was the eldest of the Rizal children. She
married Manuel Hidalgo, affectionately called "Maneng" by Rizal, who was a native of Tanauan, Batangas.

Paciano Rizal (b. March 7, 1851 d. 1930) was the elder and only brother of Jose Rizal. Being a decade older
than Rizal, Paciano became a second father to his sibling. He succeeded in sending the young Jose (Pepe) to
Europe to study, giving the latter 700 pesos upon departure. During the younger years Paciano would continue
supporting his brother financially. After the death of Jose, Paciano joined the Revolution and was later
appointed general of the revolutionary forces in Laguna. His common-law wife was Severina Decena. He died
in Los Baos, Laguna on April 13, 1930. Their only child Emiliana Rizal married her first cousin Antonio Rizal
Lopez Jr., the son of Narcisa Rizal with Antonio Lopez Sr.

Narcisa Rizal (1852 1939) was the third child of Francisco and Teodora. She was a teacher and a musician
by profession, and married Antonino Lopez who was a school teacher in Morong, Rizal.

Olympia Rizal (1855 1887) was the fourth child of the brood who married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph
operator from Manila.

Lucia Rizal (1857 1919) was the fifth child of the Rizal family who was married to Mariano Herbosa of
Calamba. She died in 1887.

Maria Rizal (1859 1945) was the sixth of the eleven children who married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Bian,
Laguna.

Concepcion Rizal (1862 1865), also known as Concha, was the eight child of the Rizals, who died at the
age of three.

Josefa Rizal (1865 1945) was the ninth child and affectionately called Panggoy. She remained a spinster
throughout her life.

Jose Rizal (June 19, 1861- December 30, 1896), later to become the Philippine national hero, was the second
son and seventh child.
 Trinidad Rizal (1868 1951) was the tenth child who, like Josefa, died without a husband.

Soledad Rizal (1870 1929) was the youngest of the brood who later married Pantaleon Quintero, a native of
Calamba.