Paco Park

In 2007 when D and I were scouting for a suitable church for our wedding (May 2008), Paco Church was one of our few options. We ended up getting married somewhere else because Paco Church was way over our budget LOL

I've always wanted to explore Paco Park and cemetery, mostly for its historical significance. Sister dearest and I had the time to do so two years ago, May 2022. 

Chapel of St. Pancratius which was closed

After his execution in Luneta on December 30, 1896, Jose Rizal's body was buried (without a coffin) in an unmarked grave in Paco Cemetery to prevent his fellow revolutionaries to use it as a rallying point. His sister Narcisa found his grave after days of searching for his remains. She placed a marble slab engraved with his initials in reverse R.P.J.

In 1898, she had his body exhumed and placed in an ivory urn at her residence in Binondo until 1912, when our national hero was interred in his final resting place at Rizal Park, Luneta.

This is the original site of Jose Rizal's burial after his execution

Cemeterio de Paco located within the walls of the park was originally meant for the affluent and aristocratic Spanish who resided in Intramuros. There are still 65 people buried there even though burials ceased in 1912. Most of the niches are now empty and the lapidas are in Spanish.

Paco Park is the final resting place of the three Filipino Catholic priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora who were executed in 1871 for alleged sedition by the Spanish authorities. Jose Rizal dedicated his second novel, "El Filibusterismo" to the memory of the three priests, Gomburza.