Josephine Bracken comes out of oblivion

The Colegio San Agustin in Makati has for the past seven years been giving awards to people who do scholarly research on the life and works of St. Augustine. We were pleasantly surprised when we learned that this year’s winner is Dr. Macario M. Ofilada III, a consultant for Philippiniana Sacra of the University of Santo Tomas Ecclesiastical Faculties and that he is a great-grandson of Josephine Bracken who lived with Jose Rizal – when Rizal was exiled in Dapitan and to this day, historians have not established whether they got married before Rizal’s execution.

We say that we were pleasantly surprised because we have often wondered whatever became of Josephine Bracken after Rizal’s death. Carlos Quirino’s Who’s Who is Philippine History does mention that Rizal and Bracken lived together in Dapitan, but it has no separate entry on Josephine Bracken. Now her great-grandson, Dr. Macario M. Ofilada, can fill this gap in Philippine history. It is also only fitting that Dr. Ofilada’s paper was on St. Augustine. We say "fitting" because St. Augustine himself had once taken a mistress who even bore him a son. He was a sinner as his book Confessions can attest. But once he was converted, he became "not only the saintliest of the wise, but also the wisest of the saints". He and his son were baptized the same time on Easter Eve, 387.

Again we were pleased to know that Josephine Bracken’s granndson, Dr. Ofilada attained his postgraduate studies in Harvard University. Again surprisingly, we learned that it is the second time he has received this award. He also got the first prize in 2001.

We hope Dr. Ofilada will follow our suggeston and write the authoritative work on just what happened to Josephine Bracken after Rizal’s execution. Obviously, she married and had children. When did she die? How did she go into oblivion? How could a person so closely associated with Rizal just disappear as if she had never existed? We are sure that there were many things that Rizal confided to her. She could have thrown light on Rizal and his times.

Has Dr. Ofilada ever written anything about his grandmother? That, with due apologies, would certainly be a great addition to his two prize-winning works on St. Augustine.