THE FIRST MASS in the

PHILIPPINES
 Hello!

Members:
Abante, Darlene Sheil
Beto, Geraldine M.
Calimpong, Mary Rogeilyn S.
Cancio, Paulyn Mae

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 Sources
The Site of the First Mass
in the Philippines
“The Site of the First Mass in the
Philippines is in Limasawa, not in
Butuan.”

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 Francisco Albo’s Log
On the 16th of March 1521 as they sailed in a westerly course from
Ladrones, they saw land towards the northwest; but owing to many shallow
places they did not approach it. They found later that its name was
Yunagan.
They went instead that same day southwards to another small island named
Suluan, and there they anchored. There they saw some canoes but these
fled at the Spaniards approach. The island was at 9 and two-third degrees
north latitude.
Departing from those 2 islands, they sailed westward to an uninhabited
island of “Gada” where they took in a supply of wood and water. From that
island they sailed westward towards a large island name Seilani that was
inhabited and was known to have a gold. (Seilani - or, as Pigafetta calls it,
“Ceylon”- was the island of Leyte)
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 Francisco Albo’s Log

Sailing westwards along the coast of that large island of Seilani, they
turned southwest to a small island called “Mazava” that island is also at a
latitude of 9 and two-thirds degrees North. The people of the island of
Mazava were very good.
There the Spaniards planted a cross upon a mountain-top, and from
there they were shown three islands to the west and southwest, where they
were told there was much gold. “They showed us how the gold was gathered,
which came in a small pieces like peas and lentils”.

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Pigafetta’s Testimony on the Route
of Magellan's Expedition
Saturday, 16 March 1521– Magellan’s expedition sighted a “high land” named
“Zamal” which was some 300 leagues westward of Ladrones (now the Marianas)
Islands.

Sunday, March 17 – “The following day” after sighting Zamal Island, They
landed on “another island which was uninhabited” and which lay “to the right”
of the above- mentioned island of “Zamal” (to the “right” here would mean on
the starboard going south or southwest). There they set up 2 tents for the sick
members of the crew and had a sow killed for them. The name of this island
was “Humunu” (Homonhon). This island was located at 10 degrees North
latitude.

Magellan’s expedition stayed 8 days at Homonhon: from Sunday March 17, to

the Monday of the following week, March 25
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Pigafetta’s Testimony on the Route
of Magellan's Expedition
Monday, March 25 – In the afternoon, the expedition weighed anchor and
left the island of homonhon. In the eccelesiastical calendar, this day (March 25)
was the feast-day of the Incarnation, also called the feast of Annunciation and
therefore “Our Lady’s Day”.

The route taken by the expedition after leaving Homonhon was “towards
the west southwest, between four islands: namely, Celano, Hiunanghan, Ibusson
and Albarien”. Very Probably “Cenalo” is a misspelling in the Italian manuscript
for what Pigafetta in his map calls “Ceilon” and Albo calls “Seilani”: namely the
island of Leyte. Hiunanghan” (a misspelling of Hinunangan) seemed to
Pigafetta to be separate island, but is actually on the mainland of Leyte (i.e.,
“Ceylon”). On the other hand, Hibuson (Pigafetta’s Ibusson) is an island east of
Leyte’s southern tip.

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Pigafetta’s Testimony on the Route
of Magellan's Expedition
Thus, it is easy to see what Pigafetta meant by sailing “toward the west
southwest” past those islands. They left common sailing westward towards
Leyte, then followed Leyte coast southward, passing between the island of
Hibuson on their portside and Hiunangan Bay on their starboard, and then
continued southward, then turning westward to “Mazaua”

Thursday, March 28– In the morning of Holy Thursday, March 28, they
anchored off an island where the previous night they had seen a light or a
bonfire. That island “lies in a latitude of nine and two-thirds towards the Arctic
Pole (i.e., North) and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-two degrees from
the line of demarcation. It is 25 leagues from Acquada, and is called Mazaua.”

They remained seven days on Mazaua Island.

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Pigafetta’s Testimony on the Route
of Magellan's Expedition

Sunday, March 31– “Early in the morning of Sunday, the last of March and
Easter day,” Magellan sent the priest ashore with some men to prepare for the
Mass. Later in the morning Magellan landed with some 50 men and Mass was
celebrated, after which a cross was venerated. Magellan and the Spaniards
returned to the ship for the noon-day meal, but in the afternoon they returned
ashore to plant the cross on the summit of the highest hill. In attendance both
at the Mass and the planting of the cross were the king of Mazaua and the king
of Butuan.

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 Jesuit Priest Miguel A. Bernad
Jesuit priest Miguel A. Bernad in his work Butuan or Limasawa: The
Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A Reexamination of Evidence
(1981) lays down the argument that in the Pigafetta’s account, a crucial
aspect of Butuan was not mentioned– the river. Butuan is a riverine
settlement, situated on the Agusan River. The beach of Masao is in the
delta of said river. It is a curious omission in the account of the river, which
makes part of distinct characteristics of Butuan’s geography that seemed to
be too important to be missed.

It must also be pointed out that later on, after Magellan’s death, the
survivor of his expedition went to Mindanao, and seemingly went to
Butuan. In this instance, Pigafetta vividly describes a trip in a river. But
note that this account already happened after Magellan’s death.
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 By: Ador Vincent Mayol, Joey Gabieta
newsinfo.inquirer.net

CEBU CITY — 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 NHCP adopted the recommendation of a panel of experts reaffirming

earlier findings that the 1521 Easter Sunday Mass was celebrated in Limasawa
and not in Butuan, as claimed by some historians.

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 By: Ador Vincent Mayol, Joey Gabieta
newsinfo.inquirer.net

The issue of the exact location of the historic Mass was earlier resolved
by the NHI, the forerunner of the NHCP, through two panels of experts: the
first led by former Supreme Court Justice Emilio Gancayco in 1995 and the
second by historian Benito Legarda in 2008. Both panels ruled that the site
of the 1521 Easter Sunday Mass was Limasawa Island.

The recommendation of the recent panel led by historian and National

Artist for Literature Resil Mojares was supported by the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines, which had sent its own church historian as
panel member and several members of the Church Historians Association of
the Philippines, the NHCP said.

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 Anna Regidor - Diliman Information Office
upd.edu.ph

“The first ever Easter Mass in the Philippines – a landmark in the history of
Philippine Christianity – was held in 1521 on the island of Mazaua, known
today as Limasawa Island, Leyte.”
This was the conclusion drawn by Dr. Antonio Sanchez de Mora, an
expert on Spanish medieval history and head of the reference service at the
Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain, after combing over sources in the
archive pertinent to the initial encounter and first mass celebrated in an
island called Mazaua and comparing them with other archival sources.

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 Anna Regidor - Diliman Information Office
upd.edu.ph

“The geographical description, the analysis of the directions, the revision of

the maps and the references to the island of Mazaua between 1521 and 1565
must identify it with [modern-day] Limasawa,” he said.

Based on his research, Mora concluded that the confusion with the
Butuan tradition “comes from an incorrect reading of the chronicles and the
desire of some missionaries of 16th and 17th centuries to demand the
conversion of the natives of Mindanao thanks to the preaching of the
Jesuits.”

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 Rose Carmelle Lacuata, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Aug 20 2020

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines has affirmed

Limasawa as the site of the 1521 Easter Sunday mass in the Philippines.

The NHCP Board signed Resolution No. 2, s. 2020 on July 15, where it adopted the
recommendation of the panel of historians, saying the 1521 Easter Sunday Mass in
the Philippines took place in Limasawa, now located in Southern Leyte.
"Limasawa was just reaffirmed again. But this time with new evidence and
accessibility to the sources, including the Pigafetta manuscripts which were found
only in archives abroad. Because of technology, we no have high quality digital
copies of it," Torres, who is also a member of the Mojares panel, told ABS-CBN
News.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/20/20/limasawa-not-butuan-govt-historians-affirm-site-of-1521-easte
r-sunday-mass-in-ph
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Thus,
“The site of the first mass in
the philippines is in limasawa,
not in butuan”

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Thank you