WK 11B- SITE OF THE FRST MASS

RA 2733

Limasawa Law

June 19, 1960

When was Limasawa Law enacted by the Congress declared the site in Magallanes, Limasawa Island in the Province of Leyte, where the first Mass in the Philippines was held and declared a national shrine to commemorate the birth of Christianity in the Philippines?

1984

When did Imelda Marcos built an edifice of the Shrine of the First Holy Mass overlooking barangay Magallanes, Limasawa?

The Butuan Claim

-it is based on a long-standing tradition from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

-A monument was erected in 1872 near the Agusan River to commemorate the first Mass, believed to have taken place on April 8, 1521.

-Though the date may be inaccurate, the monument reflects the enduring belief that Magellan and his expedition held the first Mass in

17th Century Claim of Butuan

-Both Father Francisco Colin and Father Francisco Combes wrote about Magellan’s voyage and the first Mass.

-Colin placed the Mass in Butuan, while Combes suggested Magellan visited both Limasawa and Butuan before heading to Cebu.

-Their conflicting accounts influenced later historians, adding to the debate on the true site of the first Mass.

18th Century claim of Butuan

-historian Fray Juan de la Concepción mistakenly placed Magellan’s route through Mindanao and Siargao Strait before reaching Limasawa, influencing later writers.

-His misinterpretation led to confusion, further fueling the debate on whether the first Mass took place in Butuan or Limasawa.

19th Century claim of Butuan

-the Butuan tradition was widely accepted.

-Historians like Fray Joaquin Martinez de Zuñiga and John Foreman wrote about Magellan holding the first Mass in Butuan.

-The claim was reinforced by repeated historical accounts, a monument in Butuan (1872), and Jesuit scholars who did not question its validity

Father Pablo Pastells; Emma Blair and James Robertson

The shift from Butuan to Limasawa as the site of the first Mass was influenced by _________, who reexamined historical sources like Pigafetta’s account and Albo’s log.

-His findings were later supported by __________, whose published documents spread the Limasawa claim

Albo’s Eyewitness Account

He recorded exact coordinates and described Mazaua as an island, not a river settlement.

March 28, 1521

When did Magellan men saw a bonfire which turned out to be Limasawa where they anchored and befriended with Rajah Siaiu with his brother Rajah Kulambu of Butuan?

March 31, 1521, Easter Sunday

When did Magellan ordered a mass to be celebrated officiated by Fr. Pedro Valderama, (the chaplain) along the shore of Limasawa, Southern Leyte?

Pater Noster and Ave Maria

According to Pigafetta, what did they repeated to say when the wooden cross was erected in position?

Sonia Zaide

Who identified Masao (Mazaua) in Butuan as the location of the first Christian mass based on the diary of Antonio Pigafetta?

Representative Ching Plaza of Agusan del Norte Butuan

Who filed a bill in Congress contesting the Limasawa and asserting that the “site of the first mass” was in Butuan but the NHI dismissed the same finding it unmeritorious after 2 yrs of study?

March 31, 1998

When did NHI chose to adopt the finding of the Gancayco Panel which dismissed the Gines de Mafra context which was back to whether the site of the first mass was Limasawa, the isle without anchorage, or Butuan, which is not an isle?

OKAY

Read the Concluding Evidence of Albo and Pigafetta in PPT