First Mass in

the
Philippines
(GROUP I)
 Antonio Pigafetta
 Born around 1940 in the town of Vicenza, Venice,
Italy
 He studies astronomy, geography, and cartography.
 He became acquainted with the lucrative spice trade
and heard the news of the voyage to be undertaken by
Ferdinand Magellan.
 He was one of the 18 men who returned to Spain in
1522
 He travelled with the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand
Magellan and his crew on their First Voyage around
the world
 CONTROVERSIES
between Limasawa and
Masao, Butuan
Masao, Butuan

Butuan has long been believed as the site of the first mass. In fact, this has been the
case for three centuries, culminating in the erection of a monument in 1872 near
Agusan river, which commemorates the expedition’s arrival celebration of mass on
April 8, 1521.

 1872: A monument to commemorate the site of the first mass on the Philippines
was erected in Butuan.
 1953: The people in Butuan asked the Philippine Historical Committee to
rehabilitate the monument or place a marker on the site.
 On the basis of this objection the monument was re-erected but the site of the
first mass was removed.
 Limasawa
Government Position. The national Historical Institute (NHI) first took in action on the
Limasawa-Butuan controversy in 1980 followed by the creation of tow or more panels
in 1995 and 2008. The government has consistently concluded Limasawa as the site of
the first easter Sunday Mass in the country.

 Jaime de Veyra stated that the first mass was celebrated in Limasawa not in
Butuan.
 Historian Pablo Pastells stating by the footnote to Francisco Colin’s Labor Evangelica
that Magellan did not go to Butuan but form Limasawa to Cebu.
 Francisco Albo (pilot of Magellan’s flagship does not mention the first mass but he
writes that they erected a cross on a mountain which overlooked three islands the
west and the southwest.
 James Robertson agreed with Pastells in a footnote that “Mazua” was actually
Limasawa.
 Limasawa

 In the authentic account of Pigafetta, the port was not in Butuan but an Island
named Mazua (Masawa)
 Father Bernard studied all the Pigafetta’s maps, which place in Mazau of the
southern tip of the larger island of Leyte. A check with the modern maps will show
that this jibes with Limasawa and not Masao or Butuan.
 There are only two primary sources that historians refer to identifying the
site of the first mass. One is the log kept by Francisco Albo, a pilot of one of
Magellan’s ship, Trinidad. He was one of the 18 survivors who returned with
Sebastian Elcano on the ship Victoria after they circumnavigated the world.
The other, and the more complete, was the account by Antonio Pigafetta,
Primo viaggoio intorno al mondo (first voyage around the world). Pigafetta,
like Albo, was a member of Magellan expedition and an eyewitness of the
events, particularly, of the first mass.
Evidence for Limasawa
1. The evidence of Albo’s Log-book
2. The evidence of Pigafetta
a) Pigafetta’s testimony regarding the route;
b) The evidence of Pigafetta’s map
c) The two native kings
d) The seven days at “Mazua”
e) An argument from omission
3. Summary of the evidence of Albo and Pigafetta
4. Confirmatory evidence from the Legazpi expidition
Evidence for Masao
1. The name of the place
2. The route from Homonhon
3. The latitude position
4. The geographical features
a) The bonfire
b) The balanghai
c) House
d) Abundance of gold
e) A developed settlement
Conclusion

Based on the given evidences and testimonies of the people that

is related to the given topic, which was thoroughly evaluated.
the island of Mazaua, now known as Limasawa Island, Leyte, the
first ever Easter Mass was conducted in 1521, marking a
watershed moment in Philippine Christianity.
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING
REFERENCES

https://www.slideshare.net/chad4510/site-offirstmassinthephilippines-history14
https://www.academia.edu/38165265/FIRST_MASS_joan
https://www.coursehero.com/file/51390772/First-Mass-in-the-Philippinespptx/
https://upd.edu.ph/limasawa-vs-butuan-the-first-easter-mass/