The Location of the First Mass

Members: Flores, Jana

Fontanilla, Jemina

Garde, Annaly

Manipon, Jerome

The location of the first mass in the Philippines is a controversy until now because there
are two places that are claiming it, the mass was said to be held to the island of Limasawa
Southern Leyte and Bolinao Pangasinan. There are many research evidence, conclusions, and
findings about these two places that is why it is still hard to know where the real mass was held.
The side of Limasawa claims that the location of the first mass in the Philippines was
held from their place. According to article published in the Inquirer.net by Ador Vincent Mayol,
Joey Gabieta in the eight months before the 500th anniversary of the “First Mass” in the country,
the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has determined that Portuguese
explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish contingent held the event in Limasawa town,
Southern Leyte. The historians claimed that 1521 Easter Sunday Mass was celebrated in
Limasawa and not in Butuan. The Limasawa place celebrated the claim of the first mass,
according to Mayor Melchor Petracorta they were very happy that the NHCP stood to the history
and the issue is now settled after a long time
The side of Bolinao Pangasinan claims that the first mass in the Philippine soil is held at
their location. According to the website Wikipedia the entrance or the front of the Saint James
the Great Parish Church has a mark that the first mass in the Philippines was celebrated in
Bolinao Bay in 1324 this was state by the Missionary Franciscan (Missionary) and (Blessed
Odorico).

The picture represents the CHRISTIANITY TAKING ROOT from the book of “The
Encounter” published by Fr. Jose Vicente Braganza, this represents the planting of the cross on
Limasawa on March 31, 1521. As you can see the picture is showing is the first mass happened
in the soil of the Philippines.
The Saint James the Great Parish Church (Bolinao). This was said that the monument in
entrance indicated that the first mass in the Philippines is in the Bolinao by a Franciscan
missionary and Blessed Odorico.

The cross
used in the
first

Philippines Catholic Mass

 The first mass held in the Philippines happened on March 31, 1521 at Limasawa Island

The two place both provide evidence and defend their claims of the first mass in the
Philippines, but our stand for both of this controversy we are adopting the information being
given by the Limasawa place because they have evidences and some historians do also claim it
to be true.
The other place that we didn’t support the claim is the Bolinao because even though
they have an evidence it is not enough to show and examine the real history of the first mass in
their place. The other place being involved is the Butuan, we didn’t also support this claims
because they have research and found out that Limasawa is the place of the first mass in the
soil of the Philippines.
Our final stand is with the Limasawa place because the National Historical Commission
of the Philippines and the historians have their evidences and their studies about the first mass.
There’s evidence
and proofs about where the first mass happened and it was all in Limasawa.

REFERENCES:

 https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1325039/limasawa-not-butuan-affirmed-as-site-of-first-mass-in-
ph#ixzz6c3Ju0HLl

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_James_the_Great_Parish_Church_(Bolinao)#:~:text=In
%20front%20of%20the%20church,is%20highly%20doubted%20by%20scholars.

 http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/tl/tl013634.htm