The first documented Catholic Mass in the Philippines was held on March 31, 1521,
Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
. 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
Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was an 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, ...
as "Mazaua".
Today, this site is widely believed by many historians and the government to be
Limasawa
Limasawa, officially the Municipality of Limasawa ( Cebuano: ''Lungsod sa Limasawa''; Filipino: ''Bayan ng Limasawa''), is an island municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...
off the tip of
Southern Leyte
Southern Leyte ( ceb, Habagatang Leyte; Kabalian: ''Habagatan nga Leyte''; war, Salatan nga Leyte; tl, Timog Leyte), officially the Province of Southern Leyte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital ...
,
However, until at least the 19th century, the prevailing belief was that the first mass was held in Butuan. This belief is maintained by some, who assert that the first mass was instead held at Masao,
Butuan
Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' ca ...
.
To end the conflict for the issue about the first mass, the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural herita ...
(NHCP) panel adapted the recommendation 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
Ruy López de Villalobos (; ca. 1500 – April 4, 1546) was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Pacific from Mexico to establish a permanent foothold for Spain in the East Indies, which was near the Line of Demarcation between Spain and Portugal a ...
landed in Mindanao.
Landing on Philippine shores
When
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
and his European crew sailed from
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Sanlúcar de Barrameda (), or simply Sanlúcar, is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River oppos ...
for an expedition to search for spices, these explorers landed on the Philippines after their voyage from other proximate areas. On March 28, 1521, while at sea, they saw a bonfire which turned out to be Mazaua (believed to be today's Limasawa) where they anchored.
Log of Francisco Alvo
On March 16, 1521 as they sailed in a westerly course from Ladrones, known today as the
Mariana Island, they saw land towards the northwest but they didn't land there due to shallow places and later found its name as Yunagan. On that same day, they went in a small island called
Suluan
Suluan is an island barangay in the Philippines, in the municipality of Guiuan, Eastern Samar. It lies east of Leyte Gulf and west of Emden Deep. The inhabitants of the island were the first Filipinos to trade and interact with Ferdinand Magella ...
which is a part of Samar and there they anchored. Leaving from those two islands, they sailed westward to an gisland of Gada where they took in a supply of wood and water from that island, they sailed towards west to a large island called Seilani (now Leyte). Along the coast of Seilani, they sailed southwards and turned southwest until they reached the island of Mazava. From there, they sailed northwards again towards the Island of Seilani and followed the coast of Seilani towards northwest and saw three small islands. They sailed westwards and saw three islets where they anchored for the night. In the morning, they sailed southwest. There, they entered canal between two island, one of which was called Sugbu (now called
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...
) and the other was Matan (now called
Mactan
Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is sep ...
). They sailed towards southwest on that canal then turned westward and anchored at the town of Sugbu wherein they stayed there for many days.
Diary of Antonio Pigafetta
Antonio Pigafetta
Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was an 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, ...
was a famous Italian traveler who studied navigation and known by the name of Antonio Lambardo or Francisco Antonio Pigafetta. He joined the Portuguese, Captain Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish crew on their trip to Maluku Island. Pigafetta has the most complete account of
Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
expedition entitled ''
Primo viaggio intorno al mondo'' (First Voyage around the world). He was one of the eighteen survivors who returned to Spain aboard the "Victoria" and therefore considered as an eyewitness of the significant events happened on the first mass of which Magellan names it the Islands of Saint Lazarus that is later called the Philippine Archipelago. Pigafetta narrated on his account the events happened from March 16, 1521 when they first saw the Island of the Philippine group up to April 7, 1521 when the expedition landed on Cebu. On March 16, 1521, there was a "high land" named "Zamal" that was sighted by the Magellan's expedition which was some 300 leagues westward of the Ladrones Island. On March 17, 1521, they landed on "uninhabited island" or known as "Humunu" (
Homonhon
Homonhon Island is an island in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines, on the east side of Leyte Gulf. The long island is part of the municipality of Guiuan, encompassing eight barangays: Bitaugan, Cagusu-an, Canawayon, Casuguran, Culasi, ...
) which Pigafetta referred to as "Watering place of good signs" because the place is abundant in gold. Humunu lays right of Zamal at 10 degrees north latitude. They stayed there 8 days from March 17 to 25, 1521. On March 25, 1521, they left the island of Homonhon and change route towards west southwest, between four islands: namely, Cenalo, Hiunanghan, Ibusson, and Albarien. Afterwards, they sail westward towards
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
, then followed the Leyte coast southward passing between the island of Ibusson on their port side and Hinunangan Bay on their starboard, and then continued southward, the returning westward to Mazaua. On March 28, 1521, there is an island lies on a latitude of 9 and 2/3 towards the arctic pole and in a longitude 100 and 62 degrees from the line of demarcation. It is named as Mazaua which is 25 leagues from the Acquada. On April 4, 1521, they left Mazaua bound for Cebu and guided by their King who sailed on his own boat. All throughout their route, it took them past five island namely: Ceylon,
Bohol
Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...
, Canighan, Baibai, and Gatighan. They sailed from Mazaua west by northwest into the Canigao channel, with Bohol island to port and Leyte and Canigao islands to starboard. Then they continue sailing northwards along the Leyte coast, past Baibai to Gatighan (it was 20 leagues from Mazaua and 15 leagues from Subu or Cebu. At Gatighan, they sailed westward to the three island of the Camotes group namely: Poro, Pasihan, and Ponson. From the Camotes Island they sailed southwestward towards "Zubu". On April 7 they entered the harbor of "Zubu" (Cebu). It takes them three days to negotiate the journey from Mazaua northwards to the
Camotes Islands
Camotes Islands is a group of islands in the Camotes Sea, Philippines. Combined area is . The island group is located east of Cebu Island, southwest of Leyte Island, and north of Bohol Island. It is from Cebu City and is part of Cebu. According ...
and then southwards to Cebu. That was the route of Magellan expedition as stated in the account of Pigafetta. In that route, the southernmost point reached before getting to Cebu was Mazaua, located at nine and two-thirds degrees North latitude.
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
Blood compact (Spanish: ''Pacto de sangre''; Filipino: ''Sanduguan'') was an ancient ritual in the Philippines intended to seal a friendship or treaty, or to validate an agreement. The contracting parties would cut their hands and pour their blood ...
. 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
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
s and
Spaniard
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...
s. Gifts were exchanged by the two parties when the celebration had ended.
First Mass
![First Mass in the Philippines](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/First_Mass_in_the_Philippines.jpg)
On March 31, 1521, an
Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
, 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
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
in the Philippines. Colambu and Siaiu were the first natives of the archipelago, which was not yet named "
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
" until the expedition of
Ruy Lopez de Villalobos Ruy may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment
*Ruy, the Little Cid, Spanish animated television series
*Ruy Blas, a character in the eponymous tragic drama by Victor Hugo
People
*another form of Rui, a Portuguese male given name
*another form of the S ...
in 1543, to attend the Mass among other native inhabitants.
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.
For further investigation, some points at Pigafetta's account was translated as follows:
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. 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.
Planting of the cross
![Cebu magellans cross exterior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Cebu_magellans_cross_exterior.jpg)
In the afternoon of the same day, Magellan instructed his comrades to plant
a large wooden cross on the top of the hill overlooking the sea.
Magellan's
chronicler
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
, Antonio Pigafetta, who recorded the event said:
"After the cross was erected in position, each of us repeated a ''Pater Noster'' and an ''Ave Maria'', and adored the cross; and the kings olambu and Siaiudid the same."
Magellan then took ownership of the islands where he had landed in the name of
King Charles V which he had named earlier on March 16
Archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
of
Saint Lazarus because it was the day of the saint when the Armada reached the archipelago.
In the Account of
Francisco Albo
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
, he did not mention about the first mass in the Philippines but only the planting of the cross upon a mountain top from which could be seen three islands to the west and southwest, where they were told there was much gold. This also fits the southern end of
Limasawa
Limasawa, officially the Municipality of Limasawa ( Cebuano: ''Lungsod sa Limasawa''; Filipino: ''Bayan ng Limasawa''), is an island municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...
. It does not suits the coast of
Butuan
Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' ca ...
from which no islands could be seen to the south or the southwest, but only towards the north.
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."
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.
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."
Historical controversies
One contention is that the historical accuracy regarding the country's first Catholic mass celebration is not only to be settled based on location but also on when it exactly occurred.
The Mojares Panel addressed the debate by specifying that the historical occasion that occurred in Limasawa Island be known as the First
Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
Mass, thereby distinguishing it from prior masses that were conducted by the Spaniards onboard their ships sailing through the sea surrounding Samar and the earlier mass supposedly held in Bolinao, Pangasinan, in 1324.
Bolinao
Odoric of Pordenone
Odoric of Pordenone, OFM (1286–1331), also known as Odorico Mattiussi/Mattiuzzi, Odoricus of Friuli or Orderic of Pordenone, was an Italian late-medieval Franciscan friar and missionary explorer. He traveled through India, the Greater Sunda Is ...
, an Italian and Franciscan friar and missionary explorer, is heartily believed by many Pangasinenses to have celebrated the first mass in
Pangasinan
Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...
in around 1324 that would have predated the mass held in 1521 by
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
. A marker in front of
Bolinao Church states that the first Mass on Philippine soil was celebrated in Bolinao Bay in 1324 by a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
missionary, Blessed Odorico.
However, there is scholarly doubt that Odoric was ever at the Philippines. Ultimately, the
National Historical Institute
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritag ...
led by its chair
Ambeth Ocampo
Ambeth R. Ocampo (born 1961 in Manila) is a Filipino public historian, academic, cultural administrator, journalist, author, and independent curator. He is best known for his definitive writings about Philippines' national hero José Rizal and o ...
recognized the historical records of
Limasawa
Limasawa, officially the Municipality of Limasawa ( Cebuano: ''Lungsod sa Limasawa''; Filipino: ''Bayan ng Limasawa''), is an island municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...
in
Southern Leyte
Southern Leyte ( ceb, Habagatang Leyte; Kabalian: ''Habagatan nga Leyte''; war, Salatan nga Leyte; tl, Timog Leyte), officially the Province of Southern Leyte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital ...
as the venue of the first Mass, held on March 31, 1521.
Homonhon
A position paper submitted by the chancellor of the Diocese of
Borongan
Borongan, officially the City of Borongan ( Waray: ''Siyudad han Borongan''; fil, Lungsod ng Borongan), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
to the NHCP stated that the Magellan expedition reached the shores of
Homonhon
Homonhon Island is an island in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines, on the east side of Leyte Gulf. The long island is part of the municipality of Guiuan, encompassing eight barangays: Bitaugan, Cagusu-an, Canawayon, Casuguran, Culasi, ...
on March 16, 1521 and remained for eight days, which coincided two Sundays and the
Holy Week
Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
. The paper's assertion claimed that by deducing from the timing of their arrival and the
liturgical calendar
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which ...
in use in 1521, there were no less than four masses, including the
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...
mass on their last day on the island, held in Homonhon before the expedition made their voyage to Limasawa Island.
Historians, however, remained in disagreement whether the such religious celebrations, which were said to have been held as thanksgiving for the expedition's safe passage or to observe the beginning of Holy Week, did occur.
Masao
![Ph locator agusan del norte butuan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Ph_locator_agusan_del_norte_butuan.png)
Some Filipino historians have long contested the idea that Limasawa was the site of the first Catholic mass in the country. Historian Sonia Zaide identified Masao (also Mazaua) in
Butuan
Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' ca ...
as the location of the first Christian mass.
The basis of Zaide's claim is the diary of
Antonio Pigafetta
Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was an 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, ...
, chronicler of Magellan's voyage. In 1995,
Agusan del Norte's 1st congressional district
Agusan del Norte's 1st congressional district is a congressional district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines in the province of Agusan del Norte. It is one of only two districts in the province in existence since 1987. The distric ...
Representative Ching Plaza filed a bill in Congress contesting the Limasawa hypothesis and asserting that the "site of the first mass" was in Butuan. The
Congress of the Philippines
The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House of R ...
referred the matter to the National Historical Institute for it to study the issue and recommend a historical finding. NHI chairman Dr. Samuel K. Tan reaffirmed Limasawa as the site of the first mass.
It was until at least the 19th century that the prevailing belief among historians was that the first mass was held in Butuan.
Confusion on meeting the king of Butuan
According to , 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
Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' ca ...
, rather than
Limasawa
Limasawa, officially the Municipality of Limasawa ( Cebuano: ''Lungsod sa Limasawa''; Filipino: ''Bayan ng Limasawa''), is an island municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...
. The writings of the previous historians failed to depict the correct route of Magellan's ships toward the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. Some write-ups accounted for the entrance of the ships from the southern part of the country whereas the account of
Antonio Pigafetta
Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was an 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, ...
revealed the entrance from the eastern part of the country, from the direction of the Pacific region.
Government position
The
National Historical Institute
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritag ...
(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
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural herita ...
(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.
Potenciano R. Malvar, the chair of the Butuan Calagan Historical Cultural Foundation and proponent of the Butuan claim, filed a lawsuit in response to the panel's conclusions alleging libel and falsification against the Mojares Panel and Borrinaga on March 18, 2021. The legal move was characterized by
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded bro ...
columnist John Nery as "dangerous nonsense" and a means to "weaponize the law against historical truth."
References
Further reading
*
External links
NHCP's Latest Ruling on the 1521 Easter Sunday Mass ControversyNHCP Board Resolution No. 2, s. 2020The Final Report of the Mojares Panel on the Butuan–Limasawa Controversy on the Location of the 1521 First Easter Sunday Mass in the Philippines
{{Roman Catholicism in the Philippines
Catholic Church in the Philippines
Magellan expedition
1521 in the Philippines