THE SITE OF THE FIRST MASS

WHO IS FERDINAND
MAGELLAN?

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese

explorer. He is best known for having
planned and led the 1519 Spanish
expedition to the East Indies across the
Pacific Ocean to open a maritime trade
route, during which he discovered the
interoceanic passage bearing thereafter
his name and achieved the first European
navigation from the Atlantic to Asia.
He is the one masterminding the first
expedition to circumnavigate the world. 
Born: February 4, 1480, Sabrosa, Portugal
Died: April 27, 1521, Mactan
Nationality: Portuguese
 Antonio Pigafetta
A Venetian scholar and explorer. He joined the
expedition to the Spice Islands led by explorer 
Ferdinand Magellan under the flag of the
emperor Charles V and after Magellan's death
in the Philippine Islands, the subsequent 
voyage around the world. During the
expedition, he served as Magellan's assistant
and kept an accurate journal, which later
assisted him in translating the 
Cebuano language. It is the 
first recorded document concerning the langua
ge
.
Pigafetta was one of the 18 men who made the
complete trip, returning to Spain in 1522,
under the command of Juan Sebastián Elcano,
out of the approximately 240 who set out three
years earlier. These men completed the first 
On Sept. 20, 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, with
five ships and a crew of 270 men, set sail from Sanlucar de
Barrameda in southern Spain, on what would become the first
circumnavigation of the world.
Spanish officials furnished five ships for the expedition, prepared in
Sevilla. Magellan's flagship, the Trinidad, had as consorts the San
Antonio, the Concepción, the Victoria, and the Santiago.
 Magellan and his crew first landed on Humunu Island (Homonhon) now
part of the Eastern Samar on March 17, 1521, there they found what Pigafetta
referred to as the “Watering Place of Good Signs” Pigafetta also said that they
found the first signs of gold in this island.

On March 25, 1521 they landed on Mazzava/Mazaua (Limasawa) where

they saw a Balanghai( balangay) a long boat full of people. The King of the said
balanghai (Rajah Colambu) sent his men to the ship of Magellan. The
Europeans entertained this men and gave them gifts. Magellan sent the
interpreter to the King and ask for money for the needs of his ships and
expressed that he came into the island as a friend and not as an enemy.

The King gave Magellan what they needed and the two expressed their
desire to become brothers.
After a few days Magellan was introduced to the King’s brother who is also a
King of another Island, Rajah Siawi ( Rajah Siagu). Pigafetta described this
King as the most handsome of all.
CONTROVERSIES BETWEEN LIMASAWA AND
BUTUAN/MASAO
AS THE SITE OF the first MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

Is it limasawa or butuan?
Dr. Sonia M. Zaide presented evidences that the site
of the first mass was not in Limasawa but in Masao,
Butuan, Agusan del Norte.

The site of the first mass was First mentioned by

Maximillian Transylvanus on his “De Moluccis…” in
1523 because he interviewed the survivors of
Mgellan expedition.

The survivors mentioned that they landed in

“Messana” where the first mass was officiated.
Limasawa as the site of the first mass:

~ Carlo Amoretti (1800) of Ambrosiana Library said that Mazua where Magellan landed before and the Limasawa mentioned by Fr.
Francisco Combes are the same.
~ Limasawa was supported by Fr. Pablo Pastells, Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera, Jaime de Veyra and James Robertson.
~ Fr. Francisco Colin wrote a book about the spread of Christianity in the Philippines but could not exactly determine the site, but he
based in “Limasawa” claim because of the writings of Antonio Herrera who based his writings to Andres San Martin that the site was
in “Mazaua”
Limasawa became part of Magellan’s expedition because of the writings of
Father Francisco Combes
( Limasawa on his “ Historia de Mindnao” in 1667)
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 from
Limasawa to Cebu.

Francisco Albo (Pilot of the 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 southwest.
Father Bernard studied all the Pigafetta’s maps, which
place in Mazaua off the tip of the larger island of leyte. A
check with the modern maps will show that this jibes with
Limasawa and not in Masao or Butuan.
Evidences found in 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 “ Mazaua”
e.) An argument from omission.
3. Summary of the evidence of Albo and Pigafetta.
4. Confirmatory evidence from the Legazpi expedition.
Masao, Butuan City Evidences:

In 1872, a monument to commemorate the site of the first mass on

the Philippines was erected in Butuan.

In 1953, the people of Butuan ask the Philippine Historical Committee

to rehabilitate the monument or place a marker on the site.

According to primary records, the expedition traveled 20-25 leagues

from Homonhon, the first landing point. If they had been to Limasawa
Island, the distance is only 14.6 leagues or one-half of that length.

The Relevance of the name Masao, to Pigafetta’s account, Mazaua.

The geographical features
a.) the bonfire
b.) the balanghai
c.) house
d.) abundance of gold
e.) a developed settlement

The distance to Cebu from Mazaua based on Pigafetta was 35 leagues ( 140 miles). The distance from Limasawa to Cebu is only 80 miles.
“ After a few days, Magellan was introduced to the King’s brother who was also the king of another island. They went to this island and
Pigafetta reported that they saw mines of gold. The gold was abundant that parts of the ship and the house of the second king were made
of gold. Pigafetta described this king as the most handsome of all the men that he saw in this place. He was also adorned with silk and gold
accessories like a golden dagger, which he carried with him in a wooden ploshed sheat. This king was named Raia Calambu, King of Zuluan
and Calagan ( Butuan and Caragua” and the first king is Raia Siagu. On March 31st, which happened to be Easter Sunday, Magellan
ordered the chaplain to preside a Mass by the shore. The two kings and the natives attended the mass with the Spaniards. The chaplain
who presided the mass is Fr. Pedro Valderrama.”
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING CLAIMS DO YOU
THINK IS TRUE AND CONVINCING?.

IS IT LIMASAWA OR BUTUAN?

WELL LET’S FIND OUT.

• The first documented Catholic Mass in the Philippines was
held on March 31, 1521, Easter Sunday. It was conducted by
Father Pedro de Valderrama of 
Ferdinand Magellan's expedition along the shores of what
was referred to in the journals of Antonio Pigafetta as
"Mazaua".
• Today, this site is widely believed by many historians and the
government to be Limasawa off the tip of Southern Leyte,[1][2]
 However, until at least the 19th century, the prevailing belief
was that the first mass was held in Butuan.[3] This belief is
maintained by some, who assert that the first mass was
instead held at Masao, Butuan.[4]
• To end the conflict for the issue about the first mass, the 
National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) panel
adapted the recommendation[5] and unanimously agreed that the
evidence and arguments presented by the pro-Butuan advocates are
not sufficient and convincing enough to warrant the repeal or reversal
of the ruling on the case by the National Historical Institute (the
NHCP's forerunner). It is further strengthen by the evidence that it
was
only after 22 years, in 1543—when a Spanish expedition led
by Ruy López de Villalobos landed in Mindanao.
Blood compact
• The island's sovereign ruler was Rajah Kolambu. When Magellan and comrades
set foot on the grounds of Mazaua, he befriended the Rajah together with his
brother Rajah Siagu of Butuan. In those days, it was customary among the
indigenous—and in most of southeast Asia—to seal friendship with a 
blood compact. On instigation of Magellan who had heard the Malayan term for
it, casi casi,
the new friends performed the ritual. This was the first
recorded blood compact between Filipinos and Spaniards.
Gifts were exchanged by the two parties when the celebration
had ended.
• On March 31, 1521, an Easter Sunday, Magellan ordered a Mass to be celebrated
which was officiated by Father Pedro Valderrama, the Andalusian chaplain of the
fleet, the only priest then. Conducted near the shores of the island, the First Holy
Mass marked the birth of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines. Colambu and Siagu
were the first natives of the archipelago, which was not yet named "Philippines" until
the expedition of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543, to attend the Mass among other
native inhabitants.[10][12]
• In the account of Pigafetta, Gomez noticed that he failed to mention some points of
the journey where the masses were held, one example is when they were at the port
of San Julian. Pigafetta mentioned about a mass held on Palm Sunday which was held
on April 1, 1520 during their voyage to the west but never mentioned about Easter
Sunday. Same situation happened when the fleet arrived in the Philippines, Pigafetta
only mentioned about the Easter Sunday Mass while he is silent on the Palm Sunday.
• As observed by Gomez, the instance wherein Pigafetta had written
about the mass said it had two things in common; they are both held
in the shores and there are Filipino natives present. Another passing
evidence, a document found concerning the landing of Magellan's
fleet in Suluan ''(Homonhon)'' and the treaty with the natives
featured in a blog post in 2004.[13] It first came out in an article
published in 1934 in Philippine Magazine featured by Percy Gil, and
once again featured by Bambi Harper in her column at the Philippine
Daily Inquirer back in 2004.
• Proclamation of the national shrine
• On June 19, 1960, Republic Act No. 2733, known as the "Limasawa Law", was enacted
without executive approval on June 19, 1960. The legislative fiat declared "The site in
Magallanes, Limasawa Island in the Province of Leyte, where the first Mass in the
Philippines was held is hereby declared a national shrine to commemorate the birth of
Christianity in the Philippines."[16] Magallanes is east of the island of Limasawa. In 1984
Imelda Marcos had a multi-million pesos Shrine of the First Holy Mass built, an edifice
made of steel, bricks and polished concrete, and erected on top of a hill overlooking
barangay Magallanes, Limasawa. A super typhoon completely wiped this out just a few
months later. Another shrine was inaugurated in 2005.[17]
• Limasawa celebrates the historic and religious coming of the Spaniards every March 31
with a cultural presentation and anniversary program dubbed as Sinugdan, meaning
"beginning
On April 1, 1521 (originally March 31) the first mass
in the Philippines was held at the Island called
“Mazaua”

R.A NO.2733
AN ACT TO DECLARE THE SITE IN MAGALLANES,
LIMASAWA ISLAND IN THE PROVINCE OF LEYTE,
WHERE THE FIRST MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES WAS
HELD AS A NATIONAL SHRINE, TO PROVIDE FOR
THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
AND LANDMARKS THEREAT, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.
• Confusion on meeting the king of Butuan
• According to Bernad (2002), the confusion originated on the
misinterpretation of some of the 17th century historians such as Colin
and Combes, often yielding incorrect representation of Magellan's
voyage, which ultimately led to the misconception of the first mass
being held at Butuan, rather than Limasawa. The writings of the
previous historians failed to depict the correct route of Magellan's ships
toward the Philippines. Some write-ups accounted for the entrance of
the ships from the southern part of the country whereas the account
of Antonio Pigafetta revealed the entrance from the eastern part of the
country, from the direction of the Pacific region
Government position
• The National Historical Institute (NHI) first took action on the Limasawa–Butuan
controversy in 1980 followed by the creation of two more panels in 1995 and 2008. The
government has consistently concluded Limasawa as the site of the first Easter Sunday
Mass in the country. Another panel led by prominent historian Resil B. Mojares was
formed in 2018 by now National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to
further review continued claims in favor of Butuan. The pro-Butuan group presented
non-eyewitness accounts decades after the Mass as their proofs. Meanwhile, the pro-
Limasawa group provided the panel coordinates of Mazaua given by the eyewitnesses,
studies and projects that retraced the Magellan–Elcano expedition using modern
navigational instruments, and the copies of Pigafetta's original accounts.
• Ahead of the quincentennial celebration of the Christianization of the Philippines, the
NHCP dismissed the Butuan claim due to insufficient evidences to change the
government's current position and reaffirmed Limasawa as the site of the first Easter
Sunday Mass in the country. The panel also endorsed the changes proposed by historian
Rolando Borrinaga to recognize Triana instead of Magallanes as the specific site of the
mass in Limasawa and Saub Point in Triana as the site of the cross planted by the
Magellan expedition.
• With all the sources and evidences found and presented by the
Government, Therefore, the first mass in the Philippines was held on
March 31, 1521, Easter Sunday. It was officiated by the Priest named
Father Pedro Valderrama in the shore of Mazaua in Pigafetta’s Journal,
whom people believe is the town specifically in the shore of Limasawa
in Southern Leyte. It is popularly known as the birthplace of the
Church in the Philippines.
1. When did the first mass happen?
a. March 31, 1521
b. March 30, 1521
c. March 31, 1512
d. March 31, 1251

2. An Act to Declare the Site in Magallanes, Limasawa Island in the Province of Leyte, Where the First
Mass in the Philippines was Held as a National Shrine, to Provide for the Preservation of Historical
Monuments and Landmarks Thereat, and for Other Purposes.
a. Republic Act No. 2733
b. Republic Act No. 2373
c. Republic Act No. 3723
d. Republic Act No. 7233

3. What is the meaning of Sinugdan?

a. begging
b. beginning
c. Start Up
4. All of the following are evidences found in Limasawa except;
a. The evidence of Albo’s Logbook
b. The evidence of Pigafetta’s map
c. The two native kings
d. The balanghai

5. What is the Malayan term for blood compact?.

a. Sica-Sica
b. Casi-casi
c. Sandugo
d. Sandata