Last Sunday morning, for no rational reason, my feet brought me there--at the Paco Park, also known as the Paco Cemetery. I was very timely for the first Eucharistic mass celebrated at the Chapel of San Pancratius (the chapel inside the cemetery)at 10 o'clock. After attending the mass, I roamed around the chapel looking for old crypts. This oval-shaped, domed chapel was the burial place for Spanish governors, captains, generals, prelates and some members of the elite during the Spanish era in the Philippines. However, all of the remains were said to have been transferred to other burial grounds, aside from the remains of Governor-General Ramon Solano. What I wasn't able to find out is whether the chapel's crypts were reserved for moneyed and powerful individuals, while the cemetery proper was for the common people.
I should tell you now that it is no longer an active cemetery, the last interment being in 1913. In 1966, Paco cemetery was declared a National Park, and since then it is known as the Paco Park. It has been a favorite venue for weddings, and even concerts of traditional artists. Of course, it is still frequented by lovers, and families as well –especially those who attend Sunday masses.
What's atypical to this former Spanish cemetery is that a massive circular wall surrounds it. There are three levels of vaults, which are said to be a Romanesque style; and atop the third level is a walkway that connects the inner walls of the park. At the center of the cemetery is a fountain, and on its back is the domed chapel, San Pancratius.
Paco cemetery was built around 1820 originally intended for the victims of the cholera epidemic. Niches during that time were leased for P20.00, renewable after three years. In the later 1800s, this cemetery became burial place of some notable personas –like I mentioned earlier, the governors and the elites of the Spanish era. But that's not the historical significance of this cemetery, rather it is because the remains of the four most courageous Filipino men were laid on its grounds –the three martyred priest of the Philippine independence movement (Fathers Gomez, Burgoz and Zamora), and the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. As we all know, the bones of Dr. Jose Rizal were transferred to his execution site, the Bagumbayan, now Rizal Park.
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