Where the

First Mass
Happen in the
Philippines?
 The First Mass

On March 31, 1521, an Easter Sunday, 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 in the
Philippines.

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● On March 16, 1521 when they first saw the Island of
the Philippines
● 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.

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● On March 17, 1521, they landed on "uninhabited
island" or known as "Humunu" (Homonhon) 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 March 25, 1521.

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● 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, then followed the Leyte coast
southward passing between the island of Ibusson on their port side
and Hiunangan bay on their starboard, and then continued
southward, the returning westward to Mazaua.

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● 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.
April 7, 1521 when the expedition landed on Cebu.

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7
 “
Historical
Controversies

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 THIS IS A SLIDE TITLE
Butuan
Sonia Zaide identified Masao (also Mazaua) in Butuan as the location of
the first Christian mass.The basis of Zaide's claim is the diary of
Antonio Pigafetta, chronicler of Magellan's voyage. In 1995 then
Congresswoman Ching Plaza of Agusan del Norte-Butuan City filed a bill in
Congress contesting the Limasawa hypothesis and asserting the "site of the
first mass" was Butuan.The Philippine Congress referred the matter to the
National Historical Institute for it to study the issue and recommend a
historical finding. Then NHI chair Dr. Samuel K. Tan reaffirmed Limasawa as
the site of the first mass.
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Confusion on meeting the king of Butuan
Previous historians, in difference from Pigafetta’s account,
thought that Magellan went to Butuan and there held the
first mass on the basis of the explorer’s meeting with the
island’s king. In reality, Magellan’s route never included
Butuan as one of its destinations. From the eastern part of
the Philippines, reaching the island of Homonhon, Magellan
proceeded to Limasawa and thereupon met two kings,
namely the datu of Limasawa and the datu of Butuan.

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 THIS IS A SLIDE TITLE
Bolinao

Odoric of Pordenone, an Italian and Franciscan friar and missionary explorer, is

heartily believed by many Pangasinenses to have celebrated the first mass in
Pangasinan in around 1324 that would have predated the mass held in 1521 by
Ferdinand Magellan. 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
missionary, Blessed Odorico.

However, there is scholarly doubt that Odoric was ever at the Philippines.
Ultimately, the National Historical Institute led by its chair Ambeth Ocampo
recognized the historical records of Limasawa in Southern Leyte as the venue of
the first Mass, held on March 31, 1521. 11
 On June 19, 1960, Republic Act
No. 2733, called 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.
What is the
significance
?
It signifies the introduction
of Christianity, particularly
Roman Catholicism in the
islands and the
Evangelization of the
Filipinos.
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“The 1st mass in Limasawa”
[Painter:Botong Francisco]

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Magellan Expedition

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 THANKS!
Any questions?
Pigafetta’s Angel
(Group Name)

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