DOLES, DARYL KYLE G.

SITE OF THE FIRST MASS

According to the National Historical Institute, the country's first Christian Mass was held
on March 31, 1521, on the island of Limasawa, south of Leyte, rather than at Butuan City. The
Gancayco Commission which was chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Emilio A. Gancayco,
lawyer Bartolome C Fernandez, and Dr. Maria Luisa T. Camagay had arrived to this conclusion
after the NHI established it in May 1996 to address a highly sensitive historical matter confronting
our country and people. The commission found in its 24-page judgment that the first ever Christian
Mass on Philippine soil was celebrated on March 31, 1521, in the island of Limasawa south of Leyte,
based on a preponderance of evidence culled from primary sources.

The commission concluded by saying that the panel "closes the presentation certain that
any and all residual questions regarding such historical detail have finally been put to rest." The
truth about a bygone age in Philippine history will set us free, to paraphrase what the Bible
proclaimed. On March 20, 1998, the Gancayo Commission presented its conclusions to Samuel K.V
Tan, the NHI's head and executive director. This discovery, however, was not formally presented to
Limasawa officials until March 31, the 478th anniversary of the First Mass. Based on Antonio
Piqafetta's record, some historians concocted their own stories of where the first mass took place in
the Philippines. Based on the material presented above, it is clear that many historians, geography
specialists, and eyewitnesses endorsed Limasawa as the exact location of the first mass, based on
evidence offered. Through Antonio Pigafetta's diary, Gregorio Zaide, a Filipino historian renowned
as the "Dean of Filipino Historiographers," established Masao in Butuan as the site of the first mass.
However, as indicated in the Limasawa location section's findings and inferred from Pigafetta's
historical story, the first Christian Mass celebrated on Philippine territory was held on an island he
named "Mazaua." The island "Mazaua" was mistakenly identified by Zaide as the same Masao in
Butuan. Another finding in the Limasawa section supports this.

After reviewing all of Pigafetta's maps, Father Bernard discovered that the island of
Mazaua on Pigafetta's map is almost equal to the actual position of the island of Limasawa; thus,
the "Mazaua" island that Pigafetta was referring to was all along Limasawa. Other studies based on
Pigafetta's account have likewise confirmed this.