Opalla, Jean C.

| Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Lourdes College, Cagayan de Oro

Readings in the Philippine History | Ms. Glenda Chou

Butuan or Limasawa?
The Site of the First Mass in the Philippines
There is a debate about the
location of the first Mass ever
celebrated on the Philippine soil.
Pigafetta tells us that it was held on
Easter Sunday, the 31st of March 1521,
on an island called “Mazaua”. Two
native chieftains were in attendance:
the Rajah of Mazaua and the Rajah of
Butuan. After the Mass, the party went
up a little hill and planted a wooden
cross upon its summit. The subject of
controversy is the identity of this place
which Pigafetta calls “Mazaua”. There
are two conflicting claims as to its
identity: other points to the little island
south of Leyte which in the maps is
called Limasawa; the other rejects the
claim and points instead to the beach
called Masao at the mouth of the
Agusan River in northern Mindanao,
near what was then the village (now
the city) of Butuan.
In the Butuan Tradition, the
Butuan claims rests upon a tradition that
was almost unbroken for three
centuries, namely the 17th, the 18th and
the 19th century. On the strength of that
tradition and embodying it, a
monument was erected in 1872 near
the mouth of the Agusan River at a spot
that was then within the municipal
boundaries of Butuan. The monument is
a testimonial to the tradition that
remained vigorous until the end of the
19th century that Magellan and his
expedition landed at Butuan and
celebrated there the first Mass ever
offered on the Philippines soil.
Two Americans, Emma Blair and
James Alexander Robertson indeed
contributed enormously to the shift in
opinion but the man initially responsible
for the shift seems to have been a
Spanish Jesuit scholar. Father Pablo
Pastells, S.J. He published works
included his three-volume edition of
Colin (Madrid 1903); his three-volume
History of the Jesuit Missions in the
Philippines in the 19th Century
(Barcelona 1916-17) and his History of
the Jesuits in Paraguay (Madrid 1912).
The shift in opinion from Butuan to
Limasawa was due to a rediscovery
and a more attentive study of two
primary sources on the subject: namely,
Pigafetta`s account and Albo`s blog.
What the effect of that study was may
be seen in the change in Pastell`s
thinking.
Pastells was preparing his own
edition of Francisco Colin`s Labor
evangelica, which was eventually
published in three volumes in Madrid in
1903. While preparing that edition,
Pastells had occasion to restudy both
Pigafetta and Albo, and it was then

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Opalla, Jean C. | Bachelor of Science in Nursing
that he realized that the three-century
Butuan tradition had been incorrect.
We now come to the evidence in
favor of Limasawa. The evidence may
be outlined as follows:
1. The evidence of Albo`s Log-
Book
2. The evidence of Pigafetta
3. Confirmatory evidence from
the Legazpi expedition.
Francisco Albo joined the Magellan
expedition as a pilot in Magellan`s
flagship “Trinidad. He was one of the
eighteen survivors who returned with
Sebastian Elcano on the “Victoria” after
having circumnavigated the world.
Albo began keeping his own diary –
merely only a log-book – on the voyage
out.
Such is Albo`s testimony. Coasting
southwards along the eastern coast of
the island, then turning southwest they
came upon a small island named,
Mazawa, which lies at a latitude of 9
and two-thirds degrees North. That fits
the location of the small island of
Limasawa, south of Leyte. The island`s
southern tip is at 9 degree at 54’ N. It is
to be noted that Albo does not mention
the first Mass, but only the planting of
the cross upon a mountain-top from
which could be seen three islands to
the west and southwest. It also fits the
southern end of Limasawa. It does not
fit the coast of Butuan from which no
islands could be seen to the south or
the southwest, but only towards the
North.
The most complete account of
the Magellan expedition is that by
Antonio Pigafetta entitled Primo viaggio
intomo al mondo. Like Albo, he was a
member of the expedition and was
therefore an eyewitness of the principal
events. In examining the evidence of
Pigafetta, we shall consider five points:
(a) Pigafetta`s testimony as regards to
the route taken by the expedition from
the Pacific Ocean to Cebu; (b) The
evidence of Pgafetta`s map; (c) The
presence of two native kings; (d) The
events of the seven days at the island of
“Mazaua”; (e) An argument from
omission.
The route of the Magellan
expedition as described by Pigafetta. It
coincides substantially and in most
details with the route as described in
Albo`s blog. In that route, the
southernmost point reached before
getting to Cebu was Mazaua, situated
at nine and two-thirds degrees North
latitude. There is confirmatory evidence
in the presence of two native “kings” or
rajahs at Mazaua during the Magellan
visit. One was the “king” of Mazaua –
who later guided the Magellan
expedition to Cebu. The other was a
relative namely, the king or rajah of
Butuan. At the moment, the relevant
fact is that he was a visitor to Mazaua.
His territory was Butuan, which was in
another island. At no point in that
itinerary did the Magella expedition go
to Butuan or any other point on the
Mindanao coast. The survivors of the
expedition did go to Mindanao later,
but after Magellan`s death.
As pilots of the Legazpi expedition
understood it, Mazaua was an island
near Leyte and Panaon; Butuan was on
the island of Mindanao. The two were
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Opalla, Jean C. | Bachelor of Science in Nursing

entirely different places and in no wise

identical.
Republic Act No. 2733 is an act to
declare the site in Magallanes,
Limasawa Island in the province of
Leyte, where the first mass in the
Philippines was held as a national shrine,
to provide for the preservation of
historical monuments and landmarks
there at, and for other purposes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bernad, M. A. (2002). Butuan or Limasawa: The Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A
Reexaminationof the Evidence. Retrieved August 21, 2019, from
https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/budhi/article/view/582
/579
Valencia, Linda B. "Limasawa: Site of the First Mass". Philippines News Agency.
Ops.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved
2007-11-12.
"REPUBLIC ACT NO. 2733 - AN ACT TO DECLARE THE SITE IN MAGALLANES, LIMASAWA
ISLAND IN THE PROVINCE OF LEYTE, WHERE THE FIRST MASS IN THE
PHILIPPINES WAS HELD AS A NATIONAL SHRINE, TO PROVIDE FOR
THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL MONUMENTS AND LANDMARKS
THEREAT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES". Chanrobles Law Library.
June 19, 1960. Retrieved 2008-12-13.