HISTORIC CONTROVERSY:

Site of the First Mass

Author’s Background

Antonio Pigafetta
A Venetian scholar born in Vicenza
sometime around 1491
 He belonged to a rich family in the
city of Vicenza in northeast Italy.
He studied astronomy, geography
and cartography.
He then served on board the ships of
the Knights of Rhodes at the
beginning of the 16th century.
Author’s Background

Antonio Pigafetta
Engaged to accompany and assist the
Portuguese captain Ferdinand Magellan and
his Spanish crew by the order of
King Charles I of Spain on their voyage
around the world.
During the voyage, he kept an accurate
journal which later assisted him in translating
one of the Philippine Languages, Cebuano. It
is the first recorded document concerning
this language.
He is one of the 18 who completed the first
circumnavigation together with Sebastian
Elcano
Author’s Background
Different editions of his journal:
The Voyage Around the World
The Voyage Around the World

In 1518, Pigafetta was sent to

Spain to meet with the new
Spanish king, Charles. 
That time, Ferndinand
Magellan's fleet was
preparing to sail west in
search of spices in the Orient
and Pigafetta found himself
fascinated with talk of the
riches of the East.
The Voyage Around the World
 Gaining permission from King Charles and the Grand Master of
the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Pigafetta was attached to the
expedition, although his position there was something of a
mystery.
 Since he was not needed to work the sails, swab the decks or
watch the cargo, Pigafetta had plenty of free time to keep a
journal of the voyage.
 Setting sail in September 1519 from Seville, Spain comprising
Five Ships: Trinidad, San
Antonio, Concepción, Santiago and Victoria.
 The voyage, as recorded by Pigafetta in his journal,
was wracked by scurvy, hunger and the crew's lack
ofconfidence in Magellan.
The Voyage Around the World
In January 1521: Magellan declared that
he was unable to find the Moluccas (the
group of islands the Europeans called the
Spice Islands) and the maps were useless.
The men slowly island-hopped their way
across the ocean, until they finally reached
the Philippines
In the Philippines
 March 16, 1521: They  March 18, 1521: They saw a boat
landed on an island named
Zamal (Samar)
come towards them with nine men in
it. They seemed very joyous at their
arrival. The captain seeing that those
people were reasonable, ordered food
and drink to be given them, and he
gave them some red caps, looking
glasses, combs, bells, ivory, and other
things. When those people saw the
politeness of the captain, they
presented some fish, and a vessel of
palm wine.
In the Philippines
 According to them the island they were at was named Humunu
(Homonhon).  They found there two springs of very fresh water
named it the Watering Place of good signs and they found there
signs of gold.
They also found:
 white corals
 large trees which bear fruit smaller than an almond
 palm trees
There were many circumjacent islands and they named them the
Archipelago of St. Lazarus, because they stayed there on the day
and feast of St. Lazarus.
In the Philippines
 Pigafetta’s observation to the people in
the island
 “The lord of these people was old, and
had his face painted, and had gold
rings suspended to his ears, which
they name Schione, and the others had
many bracelets and rings of gold on
their arms, with a wrapper of linen
round their head.”
 “These people are tawny, fat, and painted, and they anoint
themselves with the oil of coco nuts and sesame, to preserve them
from the sun and the wind. Their hair is very black and long,
reaching to the waist, and they carry small daggers and knives,
ornamented with gold, and many other things, such as
darts, harpoons, and nets to fish and their boats are like ours.” 
The First Mass in Limasawa
 March 31, 1521: The first ever Catholic Mass in the country was
celebrated in the island of Limasawa, South of Leyte 
Planting of the cross
On same day, March 31, 1521 : Pedro Valderama baptised  Rajah
Kolambu and Rajah Si-Agu and they erected a huge cross. They both
embraced Magellan  and marched to the placed of worship together with
the sailors. During the mass, they remained on their knees with clasped
hands.
The Battle in Mactan
  April 27, 1521:  The first organized resistance of the Filipinos
against foreign invaders.  Raha Lapu-Lapu, a chieftain of Mactan
Island, defeated Spanish sailors under Portuguese sea captain and
explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
Returning to Spain
 September 8,1522: Antonio Pigafetta and Juan Sebastián Elcano
are two of the 18 survivors boarded on Victoria arrived in
Seville, Spain.  The ship brought back spices to pay for the
expenses of the expedition.
Controversy in the Site of First Mass:
Limasawa or Mazzua (Masao)
The Controversy
 As recounted by Pigafetta in his chronicle of Magellan's
expedition to the Philippine islands starting March 16, 1521,
the first Christian Mass celebrated on Philippine soil was
made in an island which he called ''Mazaua.'‘
 Two places contested the site of the recorded First Mass in the
Philippines, whether it was held in Limasawa Island in
southern Leyte or in Mazzua or Masao in Butuan. 
 The controversy makes a mockery of the Philippine history
when Limasawa and Masao both commemorated the
anniversary of the recorded First Mass in respective places. 
The Controversy
 The issue sparks when Dr.
Gregorio Zaide and his
daughter, Sonia, in several
editions during the 1980s of
their widely-disseminated
history textbook, insisted that
the recorded First Mass was
held in Masao, Butuan and in
the process, dismissed the
Limasawa claim as erroneous. 
The Controversy
 In 1995, the NHI created the Gancayco Commission to resolve a very
sensitive historical issue facing our country and our people. It composed
of retired Supreme Court Justice Emilio A. Gancayco as chair, lawyer
Bartolome C. Fernandez and Dr. Maria Luisa T. Camagay.
 On March 20, 1998, the Gancayo Commission submitted its findings to
Samuel K. Tan, chair and executive director of the NHI.
“It is the . . . view of the panel that, upon a preponderance of evidence
culled from the primary sources, the first ever Christian Mass on
Philippine soil on March 31, 1521 was celebrated in the island of
Limasawa South of Leyte,” concluded the commission in its 24-page
decision.
 Tan also formally announces through a press statement that he has
adopted the finding reached by the Gancayo Commission, to put to a
close the Limasawa-Butuan controversy.
 The commission concluded that
the First Mass was held in
Limasawa after it found that:
1) The most complete and reliable account of the
Magellan expedition into Philippine shores in
1521 is that of Antonio Pigafetta which is
deemed as the only credible primary source of
reports on the celebration of the first Christian
Mass on Philippine soil.
 The commission concluded that
the First Mass was held in
Limasawa after it found that:
2) James Robertson's English translation of the
original Italian manuscript of Pigaffeta's
account is most reliable for being ''faithful'' to
the original text as duly certified by the
University of the Philippines' Department of
European Language.
 The commission concluded that
the First Mass was held in
Limasawa after it found that:
3) Pigafetta's Mazaua, the site of the first Christian
Mass held on Philippine soil, is an island lying off
the southwestern tip of Leyte while Masao in
Butuan is not an island but a barangay of Butuan
City located in a delta of the Agusan River along
the coast of Northern Mindanao. The position of
Mazaua, as plotted by Pigafetta, matched that of
Limasawa.
 The commission concluded that
the First Mass was held in
Limasawa after it found that:
4) The measurement of distances between
Homonhon and Limasawa between Limasawa
and Cebu, as computed by the pro-Limasawa
group, matches or approximates the delineations
made by Pigafetta of the distances between
Homonhon and Mazaua and between Mazaua
and Cebu.
 The commission concluded that
the First Mass was held in
Limasawa after it found that:
5. Magellan's fleet took a route from Homonhon to
Mazaua and from Mazaua to Cebu that did not
at any time touch Butuan or any other part of
Mindanao.
Another Affirmatory proof
 An aerial photograph of
Limasawa Island shows the two
prominent hills that affirm the
landmarks on Pigafetta’s map in
the Beinecke manuscript. The hill
on which Magellan and his crew
erected a cross after the Easter
Sunday Mass in 1521 was
presumably the upper hill marked
with a cross on the old map
The Controversy
 After Nine years, on March 31, 2007: Fr. Joesillo Amalia, a
Butuan diocese museum curator, told The STAR (The
Philippine Star):
  “We are confident that this time, new scientific evidence
gathered will prove that indeed, the first Christian Mass in
the country was really held here in Butuan City, particularly
in Masawa, and not on Limasawa Island, days after Magellan
of three ships and 186 crew discovered the Philippines on
March 16, 1521.”
The Controversy
  The historians headed by Fr. Joesillo Amalia, Vicente de
Jesus, Greg Hontiveros and several others with the
support of Butuan City Rep. Leovigildo Banaag, said
they have scientific data and official historical accounts
to back their assertion, and asked the NHI to resolve the
issue.
 They have agreed to present before the NHI fresh new
evidence using scientific and DNA findings.
The Controversy
 They have enumerated three approaches in their
presentation:
 First, the use of multi-disciplinary approach to history using
scientific and geomorphological study of the Butuan Delta that will
prove the existence of Masaua Island as the Mass site;
 Second, their approach to the presentation would be seen as a
continuum of historical events prior to and after the first Mass rather
than viewing it as a controversy to be settled in isolation;
 And third, using spatial analysis, which investigates geographic areas
and sea conditions of southeastern Visayas and Northeastern
Mindanao to decipher the distance and latitude details of the
Magellan expedition on that particular leg of their journey.
Conclusion
 Even though the panel and the NHI reaffirmed in 1998
that the place of the firs Mass is in Limasawa, the
controversy is still alive until today. The current
evidence that was presented to NHI was in year 2007 led
by Fr. Joesillo Amalia and other historians from Butuan.
 With the official correction, it is hoped that the fifth
centennial of the Limasawa event in 2021, or 4 years
from now, could be celebrated in its right place on the
island.
Sources:
• Antonio Pigafetta, First Voyage Around the World, 1969; pages 23-32
• Steve King, Pigafetta and Magellan's Voyage; Link: http://www.todayinliterature.com/stories.asp?
Event_Date=9/8/1522
• Antonio Pigafetta; Link: http://ageofex.marinersmuseum.org/?type=travelwriter&id=7

• Jani Arnaiz, 1st Mass controversy: It's Limasawa, April 15, 1999; Link:
http://firstcircumnavigator.tripod.com/limasawa.htm
• Ben Serrano, First Easter Mass in RP: Limasawa or Masawa?,  April 5, 2007; Link: http://www.philstar.com/news-
feature/393175/first-easter-mass-rp-limasawa-or-masawa
• Site of the First Mass, After 488 years Controversy Continues,  April 1, 2009; Link:
http://amazingbutuan.blogspot.com/2009/04/site-of-first-mass-after-488-years.html
• Erwin Mascariñas, Butuan historians ask CBCP to resolve first mass controversy in city’s favor, April 4, 2012; Link:
http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2012/04/butuan-historians-ask-cbcp-to-resolve-first-mass-controversy-
in-citys-favor/
• Rolando O. Borrinaga, The right place for disputed first Mass in Limasawa, April 14, 2007; Link:
http://www.oocities.org/rolborr/vinrightplace.html
• Kin Enriquez, First Mass in the Philippines,  May 4, 2013; Link: http://philippinehistoryblog.blogspot.com/
• The First Voyage Round the World/Pigafetta's Account of Magellan's Voyage; Link:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_First_Voyage_Round_the_World/Pigafetta%27s_Account_of_Magellan
%27s_Voyage
• First Mass in the Philippines; Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Mass_in_the_Philippines#Historical_controversies
• Raha Siagu; Link: https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raha_Siagu