Landing on Philippine shores

• When Ferdinand Magellan and his European crew sailed from

Sanlúcar de Barrameda for an expedition to search for spices, these
explorers landed on the Philippines after their voyage from other
proximate areas. On March 28, 1521, while at sea, they saw a bonfire
which turned out to be Mazaua .
 Log of Francisco Albo
• Francisco Albo- a pilot in Magellan's Voyage and master's mate of the
Trinidad, Magellan's own ship. He was boatswain and navigator from the
island of Rhodes. Originally boatswain of the Trinidad in Ferdinand Magellan's
expedition.
“On March 16, 1521 as they sailed in a westerly course from Ladrones, known today
as the Mariana Island, they saw land towards the northwest but they didn't land there
due to shallow places and later found its name as Yunagan. On that same day, they
went in a small island called Suluan which is a part of Samar and there they
anchored. Leaving from those two islands, they sailed westward to an island of Gada
where they took in a supply of wood and water from that island, they sailed towards
west to a large island called Seilani (now Leyte). Along the coast of Seilani, they
sailed southwards and turned southwest until they reached the island of Mazava.
From there, they sailed northwards again towards the Island of Seilani and followed
the coast of Seilani towards northwest and saw three small islands. They sailed
westwards and saw three islets where they anchored for the night. In the morning,
they sailed southwest. There, they entered canal between two island, one of which
was called Subu (now called Cebu) and the other was Matan (now called Mactan).
They sailed towards southwest on that canal then turned westward and anchored at
the town of Subu wherein they stayed there for many days.”
 Diary of Antonio Pigafetta
• Antonio Pigafetta - was a famous Italian traveler
who studied navigation and known by the name of
Antonio Lambardo or Francisco Antonio Pigafetta. He
joined the Portuguese, Captain Ferdinand Magellan
and his Spanish crew on their trip to Maluku Island.[9]
Pigafetta has the most complete account of Magellan
expedition entitled Primo viaggio intorno al mondo
(First Voyage around the world). He was one of the
eighteen survivors who returned to Spain aboard the
"Victoria" and therefore considered as an eyewitness
of the significant events happened on the first mass of
which Magellan names it the Islands of Saint Lazarus
that is later called the Philippine Archipelago. Pigafetta
narrated on his account the events happened from
March 16, 1521 when they first saw the Island of the
Philippine group up to April 7, 1521 when the
expedition landed on Cebu.
 Diary of Antonio Pigafetta
• On March 16, 1521, there was a "high land" named
"Zamal" that was sighted by the Magellan's expedition
which was some 300 leagues westward of the Ladrones
Island. On March 17, 1521, they landed on "uninhabited
island" or known as "Humunu" (Homonhon) which
Pigafetta referred to as "Watering place of good signs"
because the place is abundant in gold. Humunu lays right
of Zamal at 10 degrees north latitude. They stayed there 8
days from March 17 to 25, 1521. On March 25, 1521, they
left the island of Homonhon and change route towards
west southwest, between four islands: namely, Cenalo,
Hiunanghan, Ibusson, and Albarien. Afterwards, they sail
westward towards Leyte, then followed the Leyte coast
southward passing between the island of Ibusson on their
port side and Hinunangan Bay on their starboard, and then
continued southward, the returning westward to Mazaua.
 Diary of Antonio Pigafetta
• On March 28, 1521, there is an island lies on a latitude
of 9 and 2/3 towards the arctic pole and in a longitude
100 and 62 degrees from the line of demarcation. It is
named as Mazaua which is 25 leagues from the
Acquada. On April 4, 1521, they left Mazaua bound for
Cebu and guided by their King who sailed on his own
boat. All throughout their route, it took them past five
island namely: Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baibai, and
Gatighan. They sailed from Mazaua west by northwest
into the Canigao channel, with Bohol island to port and
Leyte and Canigao islands to starboard. Then they
continue sailing northwards along the Leyte coast, past
Baibai to Gatighan (it was 20 leagues from Mazaua and
15 leagues from Subu or Cebu. At Gatighan, they sailed
westward to the three island of the Camotes group
namely: Poro, Pasihan, and Ponson.
 Diary of Antonio Pigafetta
• From the Camotes Island they sailed
southwestward towards "Zubu". On April 7
they entered the harbor of "Zubu" (Cebu). It
takes them three days to negotiate the journey
from Mazaua northwards to the Camotes
Islands and then southwards to Cebu. That was
the route of Magellan expedition as stated in
the account of Pigafetta. In that route, the
southernmost point reached before getting to
Cebu was Mazaua, located at nine and two-
thirds degrees North latitude.
 Blood compact
• The island's sovereign ruler was Rajah
Kolambu. When Magellan and comrades set
foot on the grounds of Mazaua, he befriended
the Rajah together with his brother Rajah
Siagu of Butuan. In those days, it was
customary among the indigenous—and in
most of southeast Asia—to seal friendship
with a blood compact. On instigation of
Magellan who had heard the Malayan term for
it, casi casi, the new friends performed the
ritual. This was the first recorded blood
compact between Filipinos and Spaniards.
Gifts were exchanged by the two parties when
the celebration had ended.
 March 31, 1521 Easter Sunday
• Magellan ordered a Mass to be celebrated
which was officiated by Father Pedro
Valderrama, the Andalusian chaplain of
the fleet, the only priest then. Conducted
near the shores of the island, the First Holy
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.
 March 31, 1521 Easter Sunday
• In the account of Pigafetta, Gomez noticed
that he failed to mention some points of the
journey where the masses were held, one
example is when they were at the port of
San Julian. Pigafetta mentioned about a
mass held on Palm Sunday which was held
on April 1, 1520 during their voyage to the
west but never mentioned about Easter
Sunday. Same situation happened when the
fleet arrived in the Philippines, Pigafetta
only mentioned about the Easter Sunday
Mass while he is silent on the Palm Sunday.
 Pigafetta's account was translated as follows
• At dawn on Saturday, March 16, 1521, (feast of St.
Lazarus, Gomez inserted) we came upon a highland
at a distance... an island named Zamal (Samar)...
the following day (March 17, Sunday) the captain
general desired to land on another island
(Humunu) ...uninhabited... in order to be more
secure and to get water and have some rest. He
had two tents set up on shore for the sick. On
Monday, March 18, we saw a boat coming towards
us with nine men in it. This marks our first human
contact with Europeans... giving signs of joy
because of our arrival. At noon on Friday, March
22, those men came as they had promised. And we
lay eight days in that place, where the captain
every day visited the sick men who he had put
ashore on the island to recover."

Planting of the cross
• 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."
In the Account of Francisco Albo, he did not
mention about the first mass in the
Philippines but only the planting of the
cross upon a mountain top from which
could be seen three islands to the west and
southwest, where they were told there was
much gold. This also fits the southern end
of Limasawa. It does not suits the coast
of Butuan from which no islands could be
seen to the south or the southwest, but only
towards the north.

Magellan then 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.
 Proclamation of the national shrine
June 19, 1960
Approval of Republic Act No. 2733,
known as the "Limasawa Law", was
enacted without executive
-The legislative fiat declared "The site in Magallanes, Limasawa Island
in the Province of Leyte, where the first Mass in the Philippines was
held is hereby declared a national shrine to commemorate the birth
of Christianity in the Philippines."[16] Magallanes is east of the island
of Limasawa. In 1984 Imelda Marcos had a multi-million pesos Shrine
of the First Holy Mass built, an edifice made of steel, bricks and polished Limasawa celebrates the historic
concrete, and erected on top of a hill overlooking barangay Magallanes, and religious coming of the
Limasawa. A super typhoon completely wiped this out just a few months Spaniards every March 31 with a
later. Another shrine was inaugurated in 2005. cultural presentation and
anniversary program dubbed
as Sinugdan, meaning "beginning."
Historical controversies
Bolinao
A position paper submitted by the chancellor of the
Diocese of Borongan to the NHCP stated that the
Magellan expedition reached the shores of Homonhon on
March 16, 1521 and remained for eight days, which
coincided two Sundays and the Holy Week. The paper's
assertion claimed that by deducing from the timing of their
arrival and the liturgical calendar in use in 1521, there
were no less than four masses, including the Palm
Sunday mass on their last day on the island, held in
Homonhon before the expedition made their voyage to
Limasawa Island.[19][25] Historians, however, remained in
disagreement whether the such religious celebrations,
which were said to have been held as thanksgiving for the
expedition's safe passage or to observe the beginning of
Holy Week, did occur.
Historical controversies
Homonhon
A position paper submitted by the chancellor of the
Diocese of Borongan to the NHCP stated that the
Magellan expedition reached the shores of Homonhon on
March 16, 1521 and remained for eight days, which
coincided two Sundays and the Holy Week. The paper's
assertion claimed that by deducing from the timing of their
arrival and the liturgical calendar in use in 1521, there
were no less than four masses, including the Palm
Sunday mass on their last day on the island, held in
Homonhon before the expedition made their voyage to
Limasawa Island.[19][25] Historians, however, remained in
disagreement whether the such religious celebrations,
which were said to have been held as thanksgiving for the
expedition's safe passage or to observe the beginning of
Holy Week, did occur.
Historical controversies
Masao
Historian Sonia Zaide identified Masao (also Mazaua) in
Butuan as the location of the first Christian mass.The
basis of Zaide's claim is the diary of Antonio Pigafetta,
chronicler of Magellan's voyage. In 1995, Agusan del
Norte's 1st congressional district Representative Ching
Plaza filed a bill in Congress contesting the Limasawa
hypothesis and asserting that the "site of the first mass"
was in Butuan. The Congress of the Philippines referred
the matter to the National Historical Institute for it to study
the issue and recommend a historical finding. NHI
chairman Dr. Samuel K. Tan reaffirmed Limasawa as the
site of the first mass.
Historical controversies
Confusion on meeting the king of Butuan
According to Bernad (2002), the confusion originated on
the misinterpretation of some of the 17th century
historians such as Colin and Combes, often yielding
incorrect representation of Magellan's voyage, which
ultimately led to the misconception of the first mass being
held at Butuan, rather than Limasawa. The writings of the
previous historians failed to depict the correct route of
Magellan's ships toward the Philippines. Some write-ups
accounted for the entrance of the ships from the southern
part of the country whereas the account of Antonio
Pigafetta revealed the entrance from the eastern part of
the country, from the direction of the Pacific region.
 Government position
The National Historical Institute (NHI) first took action on the Limasawa–Butuan controversy in 1980 followed by the
creation of two more panels in 1995 and 2008. The government has consistently concluded Limasawa as the site of
the first Easter Sunday Mass in the country. Another panel led by prominent historian Resil B. Mojares was formed
in 2018 by now National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to further review continued claims in
favor of Butuan. The pro-Butuan group presented non-eyewitness accounts decades after the Mass as their proofs.
Meanwhile, the pro-Limasawa group provided the panel coordinates of Mazaua given by the eyewitnesses, studies
and projects that retraced the Magellan–Elcano expedition using modern navigational instruments, and the copies
of Pigafetta's original accounts.
Ahead of the quincentennial celebration of the Christianization of the Philippines, the NHCP dismissed the Butuan
claim due to insufficient evidences to change the government's current position and reaffirmed Limasawa as the site
of the first Easter Sunday Mass in the country. The panel also endorsed the changes proposed by historian Rolando
Borrinaga to recognize Triana instead of Magallanes as the specific site of the mass in Limasawa and Saub Point in
Triana as the site of the cross planted by the Magellan expedition.
Potenciano R. Malvar, the chair of the Butuan Calagan Historical Cultural Foundation and proponent of the Butuan
claim, filed a lawsuit in response to the panel's conclusions alleging libel and falsification against the Mojares Panel
and Borrinaga on March 18, 2021. The legal move was characterized by Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist John
Nery as "dangerous nonsense" and a means to "weaponize the law against historical truth."