First Mass in the Philippines: A Controversial Issue

On the island of Mazaua, now known as Limasawa Island, Leyte, it was claimed that the
country's first Easter Mass—a significant moment in Philippine Christianity's history—was
celebrated around 1521. Filipinos and people of other ethnicities wonder if it was indeed in
Butuan or Limasawa due to uncertainty. Due to this controversy, historians and other Filipinos
reexamined and reassessed the available information to determine the precise location of the first
mass celebrated in our nation. The identification of this location, which Pigafetta refers to as
"Mazaua," is under controversy.
Antonio Pigafetta was an Italian scholar and voyager. He accompanied Ferdinand
Magellan's expedition to the Spice Islands under the power and influence of Emperor Charles
V, as well as his subsequent trip around the globe after Magellan's passing in the Philippine
Islands. One school of thought attributes it to the little island south of Leyte known as
Limasawa on maps; the other school disputes this claim and attributes it to the beach known
as Masao at the entrance of the Agusan River in northern Mindanao, close to what was then
the town and now known as the city of Butuan.
Dr. Mora (2021) divided his sources into four categories: documents written during
Ferdinand Magellan’s historic expedition around the world; primary sources authored by writers
who interviewed the survivors and studied their papers as well as maps and nautical charts;
secondary sources that years later evaluated the information supplied by the primary sources and
the testimonies; and reports and testimonials of the survivors who made it back to Europe.
During my research to gain more knowledge about the controversy, these was also the same
conclusion made by our leading historians in the country. Additionally, the misinterpretation of
the historical accounts comes from the desire of certain missionaries in the 16th and 17th
centuries. They demand the conversion of the Mindanao indigenous people as a result of the
Jesuits' preaching, both are contributing factors to the misunderstanding with the Butuan story.

Moreover, although historians and professionals have already concluded that the first
mass in the Philippines was in Limasawa, in my opinion, whether it was in Limasawa Island,
Leyte, or Butuan, the more important is the Christianity that they passed on or shared with our
culture. The essence is that most of us Filipinos are Christians, and we believe in the almighty
God the Father rather than praising the other gods around us, as our ancestors used to praise the
sun, rain, and the like. And according to some priests, it is not very much in terms of effective
historical evangelization. Maybe it was just the start of sharing the culture and religion they
know. For me, I strongly believe that what matters now in today’s generation is that we all give
priority, time, and importance to our Lord. He used those explorers as an instrument so the
Filipinos would know that a real God exists. We must not give more importance to where it
really happened; we must give more importance to the one who made it happen, our creator, and
that is God.