MARTYRDOM AT BAGUMBAYAN After the court-martial, Rizal returned to his cell in Fort Santiago to prepare his rendezvous with destiny.
** 6:00 am December 30, 1896-He was busy meeting visitors including Jesuit priests, Josephine Bracken and members of his family ,some friends, and he was secretly finishing his farewell poem.
**Josephine Bracken- A Spanish newspaper correspondent.
**September 24, 1894 –Rizal published his last poem.
LAST HOURS OF RIZAL
**General Canola polavieja –Was designated to take charge of all arrangement for the execution of the condemned prisoner, read the death sentence to Rizal.
December 29, 1896 At 7:00 am-Rizal was moved to the prison chapel. ** Father Miguel Saderra Mata (Rector of Ateneo Municipal) and Father Luis Viza, Jesuit teacher –were first visitor of Rizal ** At 7:15 am –Rector Saderra left. **Fr. Viza gave the statuette of Jesus to Rizal happily received it and place it on his writing table ** At 8:00 am –Fr. Antonio Rosell arrived and was invited by Rizal to have breakfast. After breakfast , Lt. Luis Taviel De Andrade (Rizal’s defense council) came and Rizal thanked him for his gallant services.
**At 9:00 am – Fr. Federico Faura arrived and was reminded by Rizal that he once said to Rizal that someday he would lose his head for writing the Noli .”Father you are indeed a prophet”, Rizal remarked.
**At 10:00 am –Fathers Jose Vilaclara and Vicente Balaguer visited the hero. After them , came Santiago Mataix , who interviewed Rizal for his news paper El Heraldo de Madrid.
**At 12:00 noon to 3:30 pm –Rizal was alone and he then finished his Farewell poem and hid it inside his alcohol cooking stove which was given to him by Paz Pardo de Tavera during his visit to Paris in 1890.At the same time he wrote his letter to professor Blumentritt in German.
**At 3:30 pm- Fr. Balaguer returned to Fort Santiago and discussed with Rizal the Retraction letter of the Anti-Catholic ideas of