The Site of First Mass

This position paper is all about where the first mass really happened. The first mass in the

Philippines was held on March 31,1521 and it is Easter Sunday. Filipinos are arguing where the

first mass was actually held in the Philippines. Some said it happened in Butuan and others said

in the Limasawa.

There’s many inconsistent information in this topic. First inconsistent information is

“where did the first mass actually take place?”. There are two sites or place who claimed where it

really happened which is the Butuan and Limasawa. They have pieces of evidence to prove that

the first mass in the Philippines happened there. Second, “which direction did Ferdinand

Magellan’s expedition go, is it towards Butuan and Limasawa?”. In order to know where the first

mass was actually held you need to know first where did Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition

landed because after they landed in an island he ordered a mass which is the first mass in the

Philippines in order to celebrate.

I agree that the first mass happened in the Limasawa. There’s many credible evidence that

the first mass happened in there. First, Francisco Albo’s diary which states that Magellan’s

expedition is going towards the southern end of Limasawa. Second, Antonio Pigaffeta’s

testimony regarding the route of the expedition. He also has maps and sketches that leads to

Limasawa. Francisco Albo and Antonio Pigaffeta are credible sources because they’re part of the

Magellan expedition. Third is the Legazpi Expedition. One of the destination of the expedition

leads to Limasawa. Another information that supports the claim in Limasawa is the Republic Act

2733. The act declares that the first mass in the Philippines actually held in Limasawa, Leyte.

Last is the NHCP or National Historical Commission of the Philippines agreed that the first mass

happened in Limasawa because Butuan evidences are not sufficient.

The other site who claimed where the first mass happened is Butuan. There are evidences

that the first mass was held there but it’s not enough to convince me. First evidence is the

monument in Butuan. They said that the monument is a testimonial to the tradition that Magellan

landed at Butuan and celebrated there the first mass. The evidence is not convincing because

someone can create a monument or statue everywhere and claim that the first mass happened

there. Another evidence is they found artifacts and they said that the artifacts are part of the first

mass in Butuan. Just because there’s artifacts there doesn’t really mean that the first mass was

held there. Maybe there’s a mass happened in Butuan but it’s not the first mass.

There’s consistent information between the Limasawa and Butuan. They both have the

same date of the first mass which is March 31, 1521 and they both used Ferdinand Magellan

expedition as an evidence in their claims.

In conclusion, I agree with the pieces of evidence in Limasawa because it is more

convincing and it has many more credible sources than the Butuan. Also according to the

Republic Act 2733 and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) the first

mass was held in Limasawa.