First Mass in the Philippines PDF

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Limasawa: Site of the First Mass Was it really Limasawa or Butuan? Debates continue on where first Mass was held here in the Philippines. There is a controversy regarding the site of the first Mass ever celebrated on Philippine soil. Pigafetta, the Italian chronicler of the Magellan expedition, tell...

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Limasawa: Site of the First Mass Was it really Limasawa or Butuan? Debates continue on where first Mass was held here in the Philippines. There is a controversy regarding the site of the first Mass ever celebrated on Philippine soil. Pigafetta, the Italian chronicler of the Magellan expedition, tells us that it was held at Easter Sunday, the 31 st of March 1521, on an island called “Mazaua”. Two native chieftains were in attendance; the rajah of Mazaua and the rajah of Butuan. After the Mass, party went up a little hill and planted a wooden cross upon its summit. In this case, the subject of the controversy is the identity of Mazaua. There are two conflicting claims regarding this: one school of thought points to the small island south of Leyte whereas, the other school rejects that claim and points instead the beach called “masao”, at the mouth of the Agusan River in northern Mindanao, near the village (now the city) of Butuan. Judging from the facts presented and basing from the information and evidences which I have researched, I affirm that the first mass in the Philippines was held in Limasawa. The first evidence to support my argument in accordance to the accounts of Pigafetta and Francisco Albo who are eye-witnesses of the Magellan’s voyage both stated that the first mass in the Philippines took place on an island called Mazava in Albo’s account and Mazaua in Pigafetta’s account. They both asserted that from the island of Homonhon they went westward towards the island of Leyte and turned to a southwest direction to reach this island. Based on this geographic locations provided by Albo and Pigafetta, the island of Limasawa in Southern Leyte is the counterpart. On the contrary, the statement of Father Fernando Colins, a historian, in his work Labor Evangelica, he asserted that Magellan went to Butuan and there he celebrated the first Mass and erected a cross. And to support this, Antonio Pigafetta testified that he gave a gift of certain things to the queen Mother of France — Louise of Savory and mother of Francis I. Gian Battista Ramusio mentioned that a copy of Pigafetta’s account was given to Louise of Savory. Whereas, this manuscripts were translated to French by Jacques Fabre and imprinted by Simon de Colins. And also, there was a monument erected during 1872 to commemorate the First Mass in Butuan on April 8,1521. In my opinion, Ramusio’s version of Pigafetta’s manuscripts are not reliable. The

transmissions of text from Pigafetta to Louise of Savoy to Simon de Coline is without documentary support. Pigafetta himself did not mention that he gave a copy of his manuscript to Louise of Savoy but simply a gift of a certain thing. And I would like to point out, based on Father Colin’s account, Magellan and his men went to Cebu on April,1521. But in the monument inscription, the first mass was held on April, 1521 on Butuan. It is not possible to go back to Butuan from Cebu in just one day on the same day of the mass wherein, Butuan is 236 kilometers away from Cebu and the ships back then were not that fast enough. On the same day of the mass, a cross was erected on the summit of a mountain and according to Francis Albo, at the summit of the mountain, you can see three islands from west and southwest whereas, Butuan can be seen in the North direction. Based on the topographical details given by Albo and Pigafetta, it describes the present Limasawa. Secondly, Magellan did not go to Butuan to meet the king there. According to Pigafetta and Albo, while in the island of Mazaua, they met two chieftains: one is the chieftain of Mazaua and one is the chieftain of Butuan who was said to be visiting the island. This oppose to the book written Historia de Mindanao y Jolo written by Francisco Combes S.J. who worked as a missionary in the Philippines. He stated that Magellan went to Butuan because they heard the king in Butuan is more powerful that they wanted to meet him. It was said that their expectations were satisfied by the king. As a result, they planted a cross on a hill in a solemn ceremony as sign of future alliance. In Francisco Colin’s Work, the first mass occurred the same day they planted a cross. In this case, I hereby agree to Pigafettas’s and Albo’s account because they are eyewitnesses and considered as first-hand accounts. Pigafetta’s work is the most detailed and reliable source of information regarding Magellan’s voyage compared to the claims stated by second hand accounts. Although the evidences presented came from only two accounts, those evidences are considered as primary sources. The corroboration of information and statements on those two were present while the Pro-Butuan claims are mostly based from second hand accounts. Even though their claims are supported by other historians, the corroboration of information and statements are inconsistent. The evidences

abovementioned such as: the evidence from Albo’s logbook and Pigafetta’s account; the two native kings; the seven days at Mazaua along with other evidences such as the confirmatory evidence from the Legazpi expedition is already enough for me to affirm that Limasawa is the original place where the first mass in the Philippines was held on. With the quincentennial celebration approaching, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) including myself hopes the debates on the true location of the first

Mass

will

finally

be

resolved.

References: Mayol, A.V & Gabieta, J. (2020, August 21). Limasawa, not Butuan, affirmed as site of first Mass in PH. Retrieved from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1325039/limasawa-notbutuan-affirmed-as-site-of-first-mass-in-ph

Abatayo, R. (2019, November 13). Limasawa or Butuan? Debates continue on where first Mass was held. Retrieved from https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/270037/limasawa-or-butuan-debates-continue-onwhere-first-mass-was-held#ixzz6ZoENlKCP Makabenta, y. (2019, January 31). The Manila Times. Magellan Never Went to Butuan. Retrievedfrom:https://www.manilatimes.net/2019/01/31/opinion/columnists/topanalysis/ Magellan-never-went-to-butuan/504604/...