Father Dámaso


Padre Dámaso Verdolagas is a fictional character in the novel Noli Me Tángere. The novel was written by José Rizal, one of the leaders of the Propaganda Movement in the Philippines. Noli Me Tángere is a controversial and anticlerical novel that exposed the abuses committed by the Spanish friars and the Spanish elite in colonial Philippines during the 19th century.
The novel, according to the author, represented the state of Philippine society under Spanish colonial rule. It was intended as a liberal-nationalist wake-up call for the people of the Philippines. While the natives were trained to become secular clergy, Spanish priests in the powerful religious orders were given preferential treatment in the assignment to parishes.

Character summary

Dámaso Verdolagas, a Franciscan Spanish priest, was the former curate of the town of San Diego. He was an enemy of Don Rafael Ibarra, Crisóstomo Ibarra's father; Don Rafael refuses to conform to the friars' power. After Don Rafael's death in jail, Padre Dámaso ordered his corpse exhumed and transferred to the Chinese cemetery, which he considered was for heathens. He was later revealed to be the biological father of María Clara. María Clara's mother, Doña Pía Alba, and Don Santiago de los Santos had been trying to conceive a child when Padre Dámaso raped Doña Pia.
Near the end of the novel, he and María Clara had a dispute about her not marrying Alfonso Linares, and her going to the convent or dying. This broke Padre Dámaso's heart. By the end of the novel, he was transferred to another town to be its curate. He was later found dead due to unknown causes, possibly depression or hypertension.

Legacy