Background

Jacinto Zamora was born on August 14, 1835, in Pandakan, then a town independent of Manila, Philippines. He was the son of Venancio Zamora and Hilaria del Rosario.

Education

Jacinto Zamora received his primary schooling and then enrolled as an intern in Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he finished secondary education and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. He subsequently studied at the University of Santo Tomas where he took up theology and canon law, finishing the latter course with a Bachelor of Canon and Civil Laws degree on March 6, 1858.

Career

After studies, Jacinto Zamora was ordained priest. After that, he occupied the parish of Mariquina for a time and then that of Pasig. Desiring to occupy the first assignment permanently, he took the required tests on September 28 and 30, 1864. But instead of filling that position, he was soon designated one of the two priests of the parish of Manila, Walled City, the other position having been filled earlier by Padre Jose Burgos. Common interest and feeling must have brought the two closer, and the question of the secularization of the parishes, winning even the sympathy of Archbishop Gregorio Meliton Martinez, most probably enlisted his labors.

Upon the refusal of Padre Burgos to become a member of the Comision Permanente de Censura, Padre Zamora, for unknown reasons, accepted the position in June 1869. During the administration of Governor Carlos de la Torre, he became a known liberal, belonging to the Comite Reformador, and a supporter of the program of El Eco Filipino. He was, like Padre Burgos and Padre Mariano Gomez, a victim of reaction that followed the regime of de la Torre which came to a head in the Cavite Revolt of January 20, 1872, on which date he was sick in bed. After the revolt was quelled, order for the arrest of Padre Jose Zamora was issued, but instead, he was seized and the mistake was never corrected. The charge of sedition was found proven by the council of war, and the three priests were strangulated by the garrote together with Francisco Saldua on the morning of February 17, 1872, on the Bagumbayan field.

Achievements

• Jacinto Zamora was a known and recognized secular priest in the Philippines. He is remembered for leading a campaign against the abusive Spanish friars and fighting for equal rights among priests. He is considered to be a true patriot in fighting against Spanish colonization.

Connections

Father:

Venancio Zamora

Mother:

Hilaria del Rosario

References

• Dictionary of Philippine Biography
  1970