MODULE 10:

HISTORICAL CONTROVERSY:

The First Mass in the Philippines

The birth of Roman Catholicism in the country was
signified by the celebration of the first Catholic
mass in the Philippines March 31, 1521, after
Ferdinand Magellan landed on the Philippines
which he named then as the Archipelago of St.
Lazarus.

However, the location of the mass is still shrouded

with controversy.
Let us first watch this before we continue…

Philippines Treasure Part II GMA 7 feat1 Golden

Tara.mp4
Originally it was believed that the mass was celebrated in
the in the island of Limasawa, in Leyte, but the discovery
of the Golden Tara in (Masao) Butuan made some
Philippine Historian question the veracity of the Limasawa
location.

As recounted by Pigafetta the first Christian Mass

celebrated was made in an island which he called
''Mazaua.''

In 1996, the Philippine Congress directed the National

Historical Institute to recommend a historical finding. The
panel and the NHI reaffirmed in 1998 that the place is
Limasawa, but the controversy is still alive until today.
This is from Pigafetta’s Chronicles of the Voyage of
Magellan.

1. On Saturday, March 16, 1521, we came upon a high

land at a distance of three hundred leguas from the
islands of Latroni—an island named Zamal [i.e., Samar].

2. It lies in a latitude of nine and two-thirds degrees

toward the Arctic Pole, and in a longitude of one hundred
and sixty-two degrees from the line of demarcation. It is
twenty-five from the Acquada and is called Mazaua.

3. We remained there seven days, after which we laid our

course toward the northwest, passing among five islands,
namely, Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baybai, and Gatighan.
The Board of Commissioners of the National
Historical Commission of the Philippines
(NHCP) signed on 15 July 2020 Resolution
No. 2, adopting the report submitted by the
panel that reviewed the issue surrounding
the site of the 1521 Easter Sunday Mass in
the Philippines.

In the report, the panel recommended

Limasawa, in today’s Southern Leyte, as the
site of the said event.