New Rizal monument in Rome for 150th birthday

To mark the 150th birth anniversary of national hero Jose Rizal, Philippine diplomats in Rome announced plans for a new monument for him this year. Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican Mercedes Tuason announced the plan following a commemorative program to mark Rizal Day at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome. "Ambassador Tuason announced to the group that a new and bigger monument of Jose Rizal will be constructed in Rome, in time for the 150th birth anniversary of the national hero on June 19, 2011," the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said on its news site Saturday. Josephine Bantug, a relative of Rizal through the family line of Rizal's sister Narcisa, is assisting Ambassador Tuason on this project, the CBCP added. Philippine Ambassador to Italy Romeo Manalo, embassy staff and members of the Tuason and Fores clans from Manila also attended the ceremonies. Rizal had mentioned the Marian basilica in his letter to Blumentritt during his visit to Rome on June 27, 1887. After the mass, the group offered flowers before the Rizal monument at Piazzale Manila. In his message, Ambassador Manalo recalled stories about the martyrdom of Rizal as narrated by his grandfather who witnessed the execution in Bagumbayan. The program concluded with the reading of Jose Rizal’s last poem “Mi Ultimo Adios" by the participants. Themed “Rizal: Haligi ng Bayan" (Rizal: Pillar of the Nation), the Rizal Day celebration served as an occasion for Filipinos in Rome to remember not only Rizal’s heroic role in Philippine nation-building but also his visit to Rome which seemed to have had an unusually deep impact on the future national hero. The CBCP cited a letter Rizal wrote that he "should like to stay here until the last moment. I will give up visiting the other cities. If I had one more year, I would spend it all here… Ancient Rome allures me exceedingly." - HS, GMANews.TV