Butuan or Limasawa

There is a controversy regarding

the site of the first Mass

ever celebrated on
Philippine soil.
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 31st 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 on the information and evidence 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 with the accounts of Pigafetta and Francisco Albo who are eyewitnesses of the Magellan’s
voyage bothstated that the first mass in the Philippines took place on an island called Mazava inAlbo’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 these 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 these manuscripts
were translated to French by Jacques Fabre and imprinted by Simon de Colins. And there was a
monument erected during 1872 to commemorate the First Mass in Butuan on April 8,1521. In
myopinion, 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
onApril,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 opposes 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 secondhand accounts. Although the evidence presented
came from only two accounts, those evidence are considered as primary sources. The corroboration
of information and statements on those two were present while the Pro-Butuan claims are mostly based
on secondhand accounts. Even though their claims are supported by other historians, the
corroboration of information and statements are inconsistent. The evidence above mentioned such as:
the evidence from Albo’s logbook and Pigafetta’s account; the two native kings; the seven days at
Mazaua along with other evidence 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.

Butuan or Limasawa

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There is a controversy regarding

the site of the first Mass

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