De la Cruz, Apolinario (1815-1841), also known as Hermano Pule (Brother Pule), was a Filipino religious leader who tried to provide native-born Filipinos with a means of entering a career in the Roman Catholic Church. By doing so, he opposed the Spanish rulers of the Philippines.
De la Cruz was born on July 22, 1815, in Lucban, Tayabas (now Quezon Province). His parents were well-to-do and devout Roman Catholics. As a young man, he went to Manila to become a Catholic priest, but no Catholic order would accept a native Filipino. He therefore founded his own order in Lucban. This order, the Confraternity of Saint Joseph, accepted only native Filipinos.
The Confraternity attracted up to 5,000 members. The Spaniards suspected that it was a secret political organization set to overthrow the state. In November 1841, Spanish soldiers attacked de la Cruz and his followers, killing a thousand of them. They arrested de la Cruz, tried him for treason, and executed him on Nov. 4, 1841.
