Mark Jhon Chris A.

Austria
BSMT-3A
Activity No. 02:
Instruction: Answer the following exhaustively:
1. What are the issues concerning the first mass held in the Philippines?
The first Christian mass in the Philippines was way back March 31, 1521. The
precise location of the first mass became the subject of historians and scholars,
they have different interpretations of Pigafetta’s account and eventually it became
a controversy. In Pigafetta’s chronicle of the expedition of Magellan to the
Philippine islands, he called the place where the first Christian Mass in the
Philippines “Mazaua." The two conflicting claims of the location of the first mass
are Limasawa, which is part of southern Leyte this location was identified as the
most likely venue in 1894 and the other claim is Masao in northern Mindanao, near
the city of Butuan this belief persisted from 17th to 19th century. The historical
controversy continued in the year 1995, when the Masao group filed a bill to
declare the site of Masao, Butuan City as the place the first Mass in the
Phillippines.
2. Which of the contentions on the site of the first mass is more believable?
Why?
The most believable argument is that the location of the first mass is held in the
island of Limasawa, South of Leyte. First of all, the site of the first Mass is widely
believed by many to be Limasawa. This claim is also supported by different
sources/findings and proved by various historians and scholars. Some of the
findings are the James Robertson's English translation of the original Italian
manuscript of Pigaffeta's account it is the most reliable for being ''faithful'' to the
original text as duly certified by the University of the Philippines' Department of
European Language and Pigafetta's Mazaua, the site of the first Christian Mass
held on Philippine soil, is an island lying off the southwestern tip of Leyte while
Masao in Butuan is not an island but a barangay of Butuan City located in a delta
of the Agusan River along the coast of Northern Mindanao. The position of
Mazaua, as plotted by Pigafetta, matched that of Limasawa and not the other claim.
There are some findings that proved that Butuan is the site of the first mass but the
facts of Limasawa is more believable for me.
 3. Why is it significant to establish the accuracy of the details of the first
mass?
It is very significant to know the accuracy of the details on the first mass
because it will enlighten the current and even the future generation. It will also
remove all confusion regarding where the First Mass was held in the Philippines.
They say that history is both a useful and intriguing subject as we get to know the
accuracy details of the past we will be more aware in what should we be proud of
and it will also make the past alive that will eventually explain us the importance in
the present and also the future. Adlai Stevenson's also said that, ''We can chart our
future clearly and wisely when we know the path that has led to the present,'' So if
we know the correct and precise details that happened in the past, we will attain a
clear future.