Name: Ian Ralph Y.

Victorillo Date: February 26, 2021

Course, Year & Section: BSBA 1st 1-H

GEC 2 : Readings in Philippine History

Where did the first catholic mass take place in the philippines?

My side is in Pigafetta’s testimony on the route of Magellan’s expedition. On Easter Sunday 31 March
1521, the First Catholic Mass was officially held at the coast of an islet called Limasawa in the tip of the
southern tip of Leyte by Father Pedro de Valderrama. In the Philippines, Limasawa is known as the home
of Roman Catholicism. Landing on the Philippine coast: When Ferdinand Magellan and his European
crew sailed from San Lucar de Barrameda to search for spices, after their journey from nearby areas
they landed in the Philippines. On 28 March 1521, when they were at sea, they saw a fire which became
Limasawa. Rajah Siaiu was the sovereign governor (ruler) of the island. When Magellan and his
comrades set foot on the grounds of Limasawa, he and his brother Rajah Kulambu of Butuan became
friends with the Rajah. In those days, it was customary for indigenous peoples and most of Southeast
Asia to seal friendships with blood compacts. Almost at the instigation of Magellan, who had heard the
Malayan term for it, the new friends performed the ritual. This was the first blood compact recorded
between the Filipinos and the Spaniards. Gifts were exchanged between the two parties at the end of
the celebration. First Mass: on March 31, 1521, on Easter Sunday, Magellan ordered a Mass to be
celebrated by Father Pedro Valderrama, the Andalusian chaplain of the fleet, then the only priest.
Conducted near the shores of the island, the Holy First Mass marked the birth of Roman Catholicism in
the Philippines. Colambu and Siaiu were the first natives of the archipelago, which was not yet named
"Philippines" until the expedition of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543, to attend the mass among other
native inhabitants. In the afternoon of the same day, Magellan instructed his comrades to plant a large
wooden cross on the top of the hill overlooking the sea. Magellan's chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, who
recorded the event said: "After the Cross was erected in position, each of us repeated a Pater Noster
and an Ave Maria, and adored the Cross; and the kings (Colambu and Siaiu) did the same". Magellan
took ownership of the islands where he had landed in the name of King Charles V which he had named
earlier on March 16 "Archipelago of Saint Lazarus" because it was the day of the saint when the Armada
reached the archipelago. Nevertheless, the Philippine government established a national shrine in
Limasawa in 1960 to commemorate the first mass.