BALAORO, ROWEL P.

II-ABTM

Name of readings: Readings site of the First Mass in the Philippines

Background of the issue:
On Easter Sunday, March 31, 1521, Magellan authorized a Mass to be which was conducted by
Father Pedro Valderrama, the fleet's Andalusian chaplain and the only priest at the time. The First Holy
Mass held near the island's coastlines and it was marked the beginning of Roman Catholicism in the
Philippines. Pigafetta forgot to mention some points throughout the route where the mass were
gathered. In 1988, The national historical institute declared that Limasawa in Leyte was the place in
which the first catholic mass happened in the Philippines however there were some claims that Butuan
City was also the place where it happened somewhere in Masao Island. This topic was one of the most
controversial in Philippine history because there are conflicts and confusions about the place where the
first mass was held.

Comparison of the different versions:

Version 1 Version 2
Limasawa, Leyte Masaoa, Butuan City

The evidence from Pigafetta Evidence of Masao, Butuan City

A. Pigafetta’s testimony regarding the route. 1. The name of the place

B. the evidence of pigafetta’s map 2. The route from Homonhon
C. the two kings 3. The geographical feature
D. seven Days at Mazaua a. The bonfire
b. The balanghai
Based on the testimony of Francisco Albo who c. House
was one of the eighteenth survivors who d. Abundance of gold
returned. According to him the Island that he e. A developed settlement
calls Gada seems to be the acquada of Pigefetta,
namely the island of Homonhon where they took
supplies of wood and water. The large Island of
Seilani which they coasted in the island of
Leyte. Coasting southwards along with eastern
coast of that island, then tuming southwest
they came upon a small island named, Mazava.
That fits the location of a small island of
Limasawa. It is to be noted that Albo does not
mention the first Mass, only the planting of
cross upon the mountain top from which could
be seen the three islands to the west and
 southwest. This also lits the southern end of
Limasawa. It does not fit the the coast of
Butuan from which no Islands could be seen to
the southwest but only towards the North.

MY POSITION:
There are two different places, but only one answer to the controversy about the
location of the Philippines' first Easter Sunday mass. My position about this issue is the same as
declared in the Republic act 2733. I totally agree with The national historical institute for
declaring the Limasawa as the place where the first mass happened in the Philippines. The
accounts of Antonio Pigafetta was the accounts used as primary source. It was explained very
well compared to the version of Butuan. Every details were mentioned with enough and
concrete evidences. Geographical evidence points to Limasawa as the location or island where
the mass took place. They find the island called "Mazzau" in the log-book of Albo, a pilot from
Magellan's flagship Trinidad which is located between the islands of Homonhon and Leyte at a
latitude of 9 and 2 degrees north. The claimed island was found to be compatible with the
Island of Limasawa, which is located on the southern tip of Leyte and has coordinates of 9
degrees north and 54 degrees south. It also refers to an event in which a cross was planted on a
mountaintop with sights of three islands to the west and southwest. This also applies to
Limasawa's location, as opposed to Butuan's shore, where no islands can be seen from the
south or southwest, only from the north. Furthermore, the expedition's route as recounted by
Pigafetta, is remarkably similar to that described in Albo's journal. The Mazau, located at 9 and
2/3 degrees’ north latitude, was the southernmost point they reached before arriving at Cebu.
Pigafetta contains drawings of the islands they've visited. Despite the fact that his illustrations
do not resemble a navigational chart, they are extremely useful in identifying the islands
described in his account in terms of relative location and sizes. Three maps have been
mentioned: The Island of Samar, Island of Limasawa, and Island of Mindanao respectively. The
island of Mazau is roughly equal to the actual position of Limasawa, as can be seen in these
maps. With these evidences, I believed that the first mass occurs in the Philippines was took in
Limasawa, Leyte.