Mariano Gómes de los Ángeles (), often known by his birth name Mariano Gómez de los Ángeles, was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, who was falsely accused of

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

by the Spanish colonial authorities in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in the 19th century. He was placed in a mock trial and summarily executed in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

along with two other clergymen collectively known as the

Gomburza Gomburza, alternatively stylized as GOMBURZA or GomBurZa, refers to three Filipino Catholic priests, Mariano Gomez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, who were executed by garrote on February 17, 1872, in Bagumbayan, Philippines by Spanish ...

. Gómes was the head of the three priests and spent his life writing about abuses against Filipino priests.

Early life

Gómes was born on August 2, 1799 in the suburb of

Santa Cruz, Manila Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near its mouth, bordered by the districts of Tondo, Binondo, Quiapo, and Sampaloc, as well as the areas of Grace P ...

. He was a t''ornatrás'', one born of mixed Austronesian,

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

and

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ancestries. His parents were Alejandro Francisco Gómez and Martina Custodio. After studying in the

Colegio de San Juan de Letrán The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers i ...

, he took

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in the

University of Santo Tomás The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

. He was a student preparing for the priesthood in the Seminary of Manila. He was also the uncle of ''ilustrado'' nationalist and labor leader Dominador Gómez.

Assignment in Cavite

On June 2, 1824, he was designated as the head priest of

Bacoor Bacoor (), officially the City of Bacoor ( fil, Lungsod ng Bacoor), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

. Aside from taking care of the spiritual necessities of the town and the church, he also taught agriculture and cottage industries. Gómes also helped in maintaining a harmonious relationship among his other priests. He fought for equal rights for native priests against the abuses of their Spanish counterparts.

Name change from Gómez to Gómes

When Gómes took up parochial work, he discovered that he shared the name "Mariano Gómez" with a Spanish friar in

and a priest from

Cabuyao Cabuyao, officially the City of Cabuyao ( fil, Lungsod ng Cabuyao), is a 1st class component city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 355,330 people. It used to be known as the "riche ...

Laguna Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to: People * Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay * Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist * Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...

. So he changed his last name from Gómez to Gómes, with the change from the letter "z" to the letter "s" meant to reflect his being ''Tagalista'', meaning he was proficient in the Tagalog language. As such, his name formally became "Mariano Gómes de los Ángeles," and he signed his name "Mar Gómes de los Ángeles." This was the name he officially signed in his last will and testament.Santiago, Luciano P.R., The Last Will of Padre Mariano Gomes. Philippine Studies Vol. 30, No. 3. Ateneo de Manila University

Death

Gómes was accused of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

, and taking active part in the

Cavite mutiny The Cavite mutiny ( es, El Motín de Cavite) of 1872 was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort San Felipe, the Spanish arsenal in Cavite, Philippine Islands (then also known as part of the Spanish East Indies) on 20 January 1872. A ...

of 1872 and sentenced to death by

garrote A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and similar variants''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spellin ...

in a military court. He was sent to jail along with Joaquín Pardo de Tavera, Máximo Paterno, and the friars

José Burgos José Apolonio Burgos y García was a Catholic Church in the Philippines, Filipino Catholic Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest, accused of mutiny by the Spain, Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century. He was t ...

and

Jacinto Zamora Jacinto Zamora y del Rosario (14 August 1835 – 17 February 1872) was a Filipino Catholic priest, part of the Gomburza, a trio of priests who were falsely accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th centu ...

. The three friars were executed on February 17, 1872 at Bagumbayan field; and have been known since then by the

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

composed of their collective surnames –

. Before his death, Gómes was active in the publication of the newspaper ''La Verdad'' (

: "The Truth"). At the age of 72, he was the oldest of the three priests.

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Victor Aliwalas in the official music video of

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

's production of ''

Lupang Hinirang "" ("Chosen Land"), originally titled in Spanish as "" ("Philippine National March"), and commonly and informally known by its incipit "" ("Beloved Country"), is the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Julián ...

'' in 2010. * Portrayed by

Rommel Padilla Rommel Cariño Padilla (; born January 4, 1965) is a Filipino actor, model, businessman, politician, and movie producer. Early life He was born to late Governor Roy Padilla Sr. and actress Eva Cariño. Padilla's siblings from the same paren ...

in the 2014 film, '' Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo''.

References