THE FIRST

CATHOLIC MASS IN
THE PHILIPPINES
(LIMASAWA ISLAND)
 THE EXPEDITION OF MAGELLAN

On Sept. 20,1519 Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan ,with the five ships and a crew of 270 men,
set sail from Sancular de Barrameda in southern Spain , on what would become the first circumnavigation
of the Earth .He wanted to reach South-East Asia ,where spices grew and gems were to be found
ANTONIO PIGAFETTA
• He is an Italian scholar and explorer. Magellan’s assistant in the first circumnavigation
• 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
MAGELLAN LANDED IN LIMASAWA ISLAND

• On March 28,1521 Magellan landed in limasawa island and he met Rajah Humabon.
Rajah Humabon welcomed Magellan and his crew on the island
THE FIRST CATHOLIC MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES
MAGELLAN’S CROSS , ON THE ISLAND OF CEBU
• On March 31,1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan celebrated the first Catholic mass in the Philippines
led by Father Pedro de Valderrama
On April 14,1521 Rajah Humabon ,his wife and hundreds of his native warriors agreed to accept cristianinty and
were consequently baptised
 JAMES ALEXANDER ROBERSON

He is the translator of the original Italian manuscript of Pigafetta’s account is most reliable for being
“faithful”to the original text as duly certified by the University of the Philippines’ Department of European
language
PIGAFETTA’S MAZAUA

• The site of the first Christian Mass held on Philippine Soil ,is an island lying off the southwestern tip of Leyte
while Masao in Butuan is not an island but a barangay of Butuan City located in a delta of Agusan River along the
coast of Northern Mindanao. The position of Mazaua , as plotted by Pigafetta , matched that of limasawa

• LIMASAWA ISLAND (MAZAUA) MASAO(BRNGY. IN BUTUAN)

REPUBLIC ACT NO.2733

• An act. To declare the site in Magallanes ,Limasawa island in the Province of Leyte ,
where the first mass in the Philippines was held as a national shrine , to provide for the
preservation of historical monuments and landmarks thereat,and for other purposes
• Why did President Carlos P. Garcia did not sign the law that is enacted a bill RA 2733 declaring limasawa as the
place where the first mass took place

• President Carlos P. Garcia did not sign the law due to a lack of evidence supporting this claim but the National
Historical Commission of the Phil. (NHCP) sustained findings that the Limasawa island in southern Leyte was the
site of the first mass in the Phil.
• According to your claim ,Limasawa then who officiated the first mass ?
• And what are the evidences that the first mass in the Philippines really happened in limasawa ?

• Father Pedro de Valderrama is the one who officiated the first Catholic mass in Limasawa ‘
• Antonio Pigafetta mentioned in his acc. That they sailed south bound passing the leyte coast and reached mazaua
in march 28 152. Magellan ordered his men to raise a big wooden cross on the top of the mountain. Francisco Albo
acc. Although he did not mentioned the first mass but he indicated that they planted a cross on the top of the
mountain which fit to the description of where the Magellan’s cross on the present time. Magellan’s fleet took a
route from Homonhon to Mazaua to Cebu that did not at any time touch Butuan or any other part of Mindanao.
• According to Antonio Pigafetta , the distance to Cebu from Mazaua was 35 leagues or 140 miles . Then why the
distance from Limasawa to cebu is only 80 miles?

• Well historians said that the distance of Mazaua to Cebu is 35 leagues (140 miles ) and the distance from
Limasawa to Cebu is only 80 miles . However Pigafetta mentioned in his account that the distance of Homonhon
island to Limasawa islan is 25 leagues (138.9 km) .According to experts the distance of Homonhon to Mazaua
wich describes by Pigafetta fits so well to the distance of Limasawa island to Homonhon island.