Readings in Philippine History

Site of the First Easter Sunday Mass

Which Spanish expedition is credited with holding the first Easter Sunday Mass in the Philippines?

Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition

Which vessel’s crew records include the earliest European eyewitness description of the Mass and ceremonies?

Victoria (part of Magellan’s Fleet)

The term used for the first recorded Mass in the Philippines in many sources is often rendered as:

The First Easter Sunday Mass

Some historians argue for Butuan as an alternative site because of

Reinterpretations of chronicles and maps that may place landfalls elsewhere

Which modern Philippine province contains Limasawa Island?

Southern Leyte

What controversy surrounds the exact location of the first Easter Mass in the Philippines?

Whether it occurred on Limasawa, Butuan

Which local leader is sometimes connected in later accounts with the first contact and baptismal events near that Mass?

Rajah Humabon

Which historian proposed Limasawa as the site of the first Easter Mass in a widely accepted narrative?

Fr. Francisco Ignacio Alcina

If asked to explain to students why the site of the first Mass is debated, the best short answer is:

Because the surviving primary accounts of early landfalls are few, sometimes contradictory, and must be weighed alongside imperfect maps, navigational data, and later reports that leave room for multiple plausible reconstructions.

Which chronicler’s account is a primary source for the 1521 Easter Mass narrative?

Antonio Pigafetta

In what year did the first Easter Sunday Mass (as commonly cited) in the Philippines take place?

1521

Where is the site traditionally identified as the location of the first Easter Sunday Mass in the Philippines?

Limasawa Island, Southern Leyte

What religious act accompanied the first Mass that is often highlighted in accounts?

Baptism of some Islanders

The site of the first Easter Sunday Mass is associated with which island group?

Visayas

What controversy surrounds the exact location of the first Easter Mass in the Philippines?

That it represents the first documented Christian rite by Europeans