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

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 onl ...

, 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 memb ...

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 populated ...

along with two other clergymen collectively known as the Gomburza. 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. He was a t''ornatrás'', one born of mixed Austronesian, Chinese and Spanish 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 th ...

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 Migue ...

. 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 southw ...

. 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. 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, esta ...

, and taking active part in the Cavite mutiny 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 spelli ...

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 Filipino Catholic priest, accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century. He was tried and executed in Manila along with two other clergymen, Mariano Gomez a ...

and Jacinto Zamora. 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 – Gomburza. Before his death, Gómes was active in the publication of the newspaper ''La Verdad'' ( Spanish: "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 Juliá ...

'' in 2010. * Portrayed by Rommel Padilla in the 2014 film, '' Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo''.

References