Site of the First Mass in the Philippines

The Butuan Tradition

The Butuan claim rests upon a tradition that was almost unanimous and unbroken for
three centuries, namely 17th ,the 18th and the 19th. 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 people of Butuan
with their Parish Priest and the Spaniards resident therein to commemorate his arrival
and celebration on the first mass on this site on the 8 th of april 1521. Erected in 1872
under the District Governor Jose Ma. Carvallo. At the 17th Century one of the
historians was Father Francisco Colin S.J(1592-1660) whose “ Labor Evangelica” was
the first published in Madrid on 1663 three years after his death. The work was reissued
240 years later in a magnificent. On Easter Day in the territory of Butuan, the first Mass
ever offered on those parts was celebrated and cross planted. The man who gave the
most signal service to our men was the chief of Butuan, which entered thee harbor at
noon on the 7th of April the Octave of Easter. Magellan landed at Butuan and there
planted the cross in a solemn ceremony. The first mass was celebrated at Butuan it was

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certainly neither Pigaffeta nor albo nor Maximilian of Transylvania. Pigafetta himself is
a witness to that importance. The king of Butuan, he says “was the finest looking man

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that he saw among those people”. Coasting along thee North of the Island of Mindanao
they arrived at the mouth of the Butuan river where they were supplied with provisions

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by the chief. It was Easter Week on this shore the first Mass was celebrated in the
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Philippines.

Significance of the First Mass in the Butuan

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 Historian says that it is in Limasawa on the southern tip of Leyte and some says it
is held in Masao, Butuan. At this very moment this issue is being contested by this
people from this two different places claiming that the first Mass is held in their
place.
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 The researchers search for the facts and evidences that may lead on where it is the
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first Mass truly held. The data show in the table is the evidences that the
researchers gathered in this case study about where is the first Mass really held?
The researcher analyze the only two primary sources that historians refer in
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identifying the site of the first Mass.

 One is the log kept by Francisco Albo, a pilot of one of Magellan’s ship, Trinidad. He
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was one of the 18 survivors who returned with Sebastian Elcano on the ship
Victoria after they circumnavigated the world. The other, and the more complete,
was the account of Antonio Pigafetta, Primo viaggio intorno al mondo (First Voyage
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around the World). Pigafetta, like Albo, was a member of the Magellan expedition
and an eyewitness of the events, particularly, of the first Mass.
 Therefore, the researchers conclude that the first mass was held in Masao, Butuan
and not in Limasawa Leyte; because according to (Republic Act No. 2733) the law
as well as the government declare that the first mass is really held in Masao,
Butuan.
 Even though there is also a law declare Limasawa as the place were the first Mass
held there’s a possibility that they only want to detour us to the truth that Butuan
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https://www.coursehero.com/file/48304059/Site-of-the-First-Mass-in-the-Philippinesdocx/
 is the real place where it is held because there’s a lot of evidences that leads to
the conclusion that the first Mass was held in Masao, Butuan.

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This study source was downloaded by 100000790342640 from CourseHero.com on 10-19-2021 18:48:56 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/48304059/Site-of-the-First-Mass-in-the-Philippinesdocx/
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