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.