SITE OF T H E F I R S T

S IN T H E P H IL I P P IN E S
M AS
 • AROUND 1491 WHEN HE WAS BORN IN
ANTONIO PIGAFETTA VICENZA, REPUBLIC OF VENICE OR WAS KNOW
NOW AS ITALY AND DIED AT AGED OF 39-40
AROUND 1531.

• HE STUDIED ASTRONOMY ; GEOGRAPHY AND

CARTOGRAPHY.

• AN ITALIAN SCHOLAR AND EXPLORER FROM

THE REPUBLIC OF VENICE.

• HE TRAVELLED WITH THE PORTUGUESE

EXPLORER FERDINAND MAGELLAN AND HIS
CREW ON THEIR FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE
WORLD.

• HE WAS ONE OF THE 18 MEN WHO RETURNED TO

SPAIN IN 1522.
THE FIRST MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES
• THE FIRST CATHOLIC MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES WAS HELD ON MARCH 31,
1521. ( EASTERN SUNDAY). DURING THE FIRST MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES,
WHICH TOOK PLACE ON MARCH 31, 1521, IN LIMASAWA, SEVERAL KEY
EVENTS UNFOLDED. FRIAR PEDRO DE VALDERRAMA OFFICIATED THE MASS
AS PART OF FERDINAND MAGELLAN'S EXPEDITION. LOCAL CHIEFTAIN RAJAH
KOLAMBU, ALONG WITH HIS WIFE AND FOLLOWERS, PARTICIPATED IN THE
CEREMONY. THIS EVENT MARKED THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO
THE PHILIPPINES, PAVING THE WAY FOR FUTURE SPANISH INFLUENCE AND
THE SPREAD OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IN THE ARCHIPELAGO.
PEDRO DE VALDERRAMA
• PEDRO DE VALDERRAMA WAS A SPANISH
FRANCISCAN FRIAR WHO PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN
THE EARLY INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE
PHILIPPINES. HE WAS PART OF FERDINAND
MAGELLAN'S EXPEDITION AND IS KNOWN FOR
OFFICIATING THE FIRST CATHOLIC MASS IN THE
PHILIPPINES ON MARCH 31, 1521, IN LIMASAWA.
VALDERRAMA'S INVOLVEMENT MARKED THE
INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE
ARCHIPELAGO, SETTING THE STAGE FOR SUBSEQUENT
SPANISH INFLUENCE AND THE SPREAD OF THE
CHRISTIAN FAITH IN THE REGION.
•POPULARLY KNOWN AS THE
BIRTHPLACE OF THE CHURCH
IN THE PHILIPPINES.
•HOLY FIRST MASS MARKED
THE BIRTH OF ROMAN
CATHOLICISM IN THE
PHILIPPINES .
CO N T RO V E RS I ES B ET W E E N
LIMASAWA A N D M A S A O /
B U TU A N
MASAO
• * 1872 : A MONUMENT TO COMMEMORATE THE SIGHT OF FIRST MASS ON THE
PHILLPPINES WAS ELECTED IN BUTUON.

• * 1953 : THE PEOPLE IN BUTUAN ASKED THE PHILIPPINE HISTORICAL COMMITTEE TO

REHABILITATE THE MONUMENT OR PLACE A MARKER IN THE SIGHT.

• ON THE BASIS OF THIS OBJECTION THE MONUMENT WAS RE ERECTED BUT THE
MARBLE SLAB STATING IT WAS THE SIGHT OF FIRST MASS REMOVED .

• ZAIDE IDENTIFIED MASAO IN BUTUAN AS THE LOCATION OF THE FIRST MASS. THE
BASIS ZAIDES CLAIM IS THE DAIRY OF ANTONION PIGAFETTA CHRONICLES OF
MAGELLAN’S VOYAGE.
LIMASAWA
• 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.

• IN THE AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF THE PIGAFETTA THE PORT WAS NOT IN BUTUAN BUT ON
ISLAND NAMED MAZUA ( MASAWA)

• FATHER BERNARD STUDIED ALL THE PIGAFETTA’S MAPS , WHICH PLACE IN MAZAU OFF
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.
SUMMARY
SITE OF THE FIRST MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES IS A TOPIC OF
HISTORICAL DEBATE, WITH TWO MAIN CONTENDERS: LIMASAWA
AND MASAO/BUTUAN.LIMASAWA, LOCATED IN SOUTHERN LEYTE,
HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN RECOGNIZED AS THE SITE WHERE
FERDINAND MAGELLAN AND HIS CREW HELD THE FIRST MASS IN
THE PHILIPPINES ON MARCH 31, 1521. THIS BELIEF IS SUPPORTED
BY ACCOUNTS WRITTEN BY MAGELLAN'S CHRONICLER, ANTONIO
PIGAFETTA.
ACCORDING TO PIGAFETTA, THE MASS TOOK PLACE ON LIMASAWA
ISLAND, AND THE NATIVES WERE BAPTIZED INTO THE CATHOLIC
FAITH.HOWEVER, ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE SUGGESTS THAT THE
FIRST MASS ACTUALLY OCCURRED IN MASAO, NOW KNOWN AS
BUTUAN, IN AGUSAN DEL NORTE. THIS THEORY IS BASED ON THE
ACCOUNTS OF THE ITALIAN HISTORIAN, ANTONIO DE MORGA, WHO
STATED THAT MAGELLAN LANDED IN BUTUAN AND HELD A MASS
THERE IN APRIL 1521.
 ADDITIONALLY, ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN BUTUAN, SUCH
AS THE DISCOVERY OF A CROSS AND A STONE MARKER, HAVE BEEN
CITED AS EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THIS CLAIM. BOTH SITES HAVE
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN THE PHILIPPINES, AS THEY ARE
ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARRIVAL OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE
ARCHIPELAGO. THE DEBATE OVER THE TRUE LOCATION OF THE
FIRST MASS HIGHLIGHTS THE COMPLEXITIES OF HISTORICAL
INTERPRETATION AND THE NEED TO CRITICALLY EXAMINE VARIOUS
SOURCES AND PERSPECTIVES.
CONCLUSION
THE FIRST MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES WAS A SIGNIFICANT EVENT THAT
MARKED THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF THE COUNTRY. IT
INTRODUCED CHRISTIANITY TO THE NATIVES AND PAVED THE WAY FOR THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE ARCHIPELAGO.
HOWEVER, DIFFERENT HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS AND PERSPECTIVES EXIST
REGARDING THE FIRST MASS, AND IT IS ESSENTIAL TO ANALYZE THEM TO
HAVE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS SIGNIFICANT
EVENT. BY ACKNOWLEDGING THE BIASES AND PERSPECTIVES OF DIFFERENT
ACCOUNTS, WE CAN GAIN A MORE NUANCED UNDERSTANDING OF THE
HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES AND ITS PEOPLE.