page_title: Marcelo H. del Pilar
section_title: Later years, illness, and death (1895–1896)
hierarchical_section_title: Marcelo H. del Pilar / Biography / Propaganda movement in Spain (1889–1896) / Later years, illness, and death (1895–1896)
caption_attribution_description: English: The statue of Marcelo H. Del Pilar in his national shrine in San Nicolas, Bulacan, Bulacan
context_page_description: Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán, commonly known as Marcelo H. del Pilar and also known by his pen name Plaridel, was a Filipino writer, lawyer, journalist, and freemason. Del Pilar, along with José Rizal and Graciano López Jaena, became known as the leaders of the Reform Movement in Spain.
  Del Pilar was born and brought up in Bulakan, Bulacan. At an early age, he became a critic of the monastic rule in the country. He was suspended at the University of Santo Tomas and jailed in 1869 after he and the parish priest quarrelled over exorbitant baptismal fees. In the 1880s, he expanded his anti-friar movement from Malolos to Manila. He went to Spain in 1888 after an order of banishment was issued against him. Twelve months after his arrival in Barcelona, he succeeded López Jaena as editor of the La Solidaridad. Publication of the newspaper stopped in 1895 due to lack of funds. Losing hope in reforms, he grew favorable of a revolution against Spain. He was on his way home in 1896 when he contracted tuberculosis in Barcelona. He died in a public hospital and was buried in a pauper's grave.
context_section_description: Del Pilar's last years in Spain saw his descent into extreme poverty. He often missed his meals and during winter, he kept himself warm by smoking discarded cigarette butts he picked up in the streets. Suffering from tuberculosis, del Pilar decided to return to the Philippines. His illness worsened that he had to cancel his journey. He was taken to the Hospital de la Santa Cruz (Hospital Civil) in Barcelona. Del Pilar died there on July 4, 1896, a few days before the Cry of Pugad Lawin (Cry of Balintawak). He was buried the following day in a borrowed grave at the Cementerio del Sub-Oeste (Southwest Cemetery).
caption: The National Shrine of Marcelo H. del Pilar in San Nicolás, Bulacán, Bulacan
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