First Mass in the Philippines

On March 16, 1521 as they sailed in a westerly course from Ladrones or known as Mariana Island at the present, they saw land towards the northwest but they didn't landed there due to shallow places and later found its name as Yunagan. On that same day, they went in a small island called Suluan which is a part of Samar and there they anchored. Leaving from those two islands, they sailed westward to an island of Gada where they took in a supply of wood and water from that island, they sailed towards west to a large island called Seilani (now Leyte). Along the coast of Seilani, they sailed southwards and turned southwest until they reached the island of Mazava. From there, they sailed northwards again towards the Island of Seilani and followed the coast of Seilani towards northwest and saw three small islands. They sailed westwards and saw three islets where they anchored for the night. In the morning, they sailed southwest. There, they entered canal between two island, one of which was called Subu (now called Cebu) and the other was Matan (now called Mactan). They sailed towards southwest on that canal then turned westward and anchored at the town of Subu wherein they stayed there for many days.[4]

Antonio Pigafetta was a famous Italian traveller who studied navigation and known by the name of Antonio Lambardo or Francisco Antonio Pigafetta. He joined the Portuguese, Captain Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish crew on their trip to Maluku Island.[5] Pigafetta has the most complete account of Magellan expedition entitled Primo viaggio intorno al mondo (First Voyage around the world). 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 of which Magellan names it the Islands of Saint Lazarus that is later called the Philippine Archipelago. Pigafetta narrated on his account the events happened from March 16, 1521 when they first saw the Island of the Philippine group up to April 7, 1521 when the expedition landed on Cebu. 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. 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. 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. 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 and guided by their King who sailed on his own boat. All throughout their route, it took them past five island namely: Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baibai, and Gatighan. They sailed from Mazaua west by northwest into the Canigao channel, with Bohol island to port and Leyte and Canigao islands to starboard. Then they continue sailing northwards along the Leyte coast, past Baibai to Gatighan (it was 20 leagues from Mazaua and 15 leagues from Subu or Cebu. At Gatighan, they sailed westward to the three island of the Camotes group namely: Poro, Pasihan, and Ponson. From the Camotes Island they sailed southwestward towards "Zubu". On April 7 they entered the harbor of "Zubu" (Cebu). It takes them three days to negotiate the journey from Mazaua northwards to the Camotes Islands and then southwards to Cebu. That was the route of Magellan expedition as stated in the account of Pigafetta. In that route, the southernmost point reached before getting to Cebu was Mazaua, located at nine and two-thirds degrees North latitude.[4]

The island's sovereign ruler was Rajah Kolambu. When Magellan and comrades set foot on the grounds of Mazaua, he befriended the Rajah together with his brother Rajah Siagu of Butuan. In those days, it was customary among the indigenous—and in most of southeast Asia—to seal friendship with a blood compact. On instigation of Magellan who had heard the Malayan term for it, casi casi, the new friends performed the ritual. This was the first recorded blood compact between Filipinos and Spaniards. Gifts were exchanged by the two parties when the celebration had ended.[6][7]

On March 31, 1521, an Easter Sunday, Magellan ordered a Mass to be celebrated which was officiated by Father Pedro Valderrama, the Andalusion 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. Colambu and Siaiu were the first natives of the archipelago, which was not yet named "Philippines" until the expedition of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543, to attend the Mass among other native inhabitants.[6][8]

During the stay of Magellan and his crew in the inhabited island of Humunu as what Pigafetta has documented in his Chronicles, according to Gomez (2019), argues that the "first mass" on Philippine soil was not in ''Agusan'' nor Southern ''Leyte'' and pointed out Palm Sunday must have been celebrated first before the mass on Easter Sunday, which is obviously practiced up until today.

In the account of Pigafetta, Gomez noticed that he failed to mention some points of the journey where the masses were held, one example is when they were at the port of San Julian. Pigafetta mentioned about a mass held on Palm Sunday which was held on April 1, 1520 during their voyage to the west but never mentioned about Easter Sunday. Same situation happened when the fleet arrived in the Philippines, Pigafetta only mentioned about the Easter Sunday Mass while he is silent on the Palm Sunday.

[1] For further investigation, some points at Pigafetta's account was translated as follows: ''“At dawn on Saturday, March 16, 1521, (feast of St. Lazarus, Gomez inserted) we came upon a highland at a distance… an island named Zamal (Samar)… the following day (March 17, Sunday) the captain general desired to land on another island (Humunu) …uninhabited… in order to be more secure and to get water and have some rest. He had two tents set up on shore for the sick.”'' ''“On Monday, March 18, we saw a boat coming towards us with nine men in it.”'' ''This marks our first human contact with Europeans... giving signs of joy because of our arrival.” “At noon on Friday, March 22, those men came as they had promised.” “And we lay eight days in that place, where the captain every day visited the sick men who he had put ashore on the island to recover.”''

[sic] As observed by Gomez, the instance wherein Pigafetta had written about the mass said it had two things in common; they are both held in the shores and there are Filipino natives present. Another passing evidence, a document found concerning the landing of Magellan's fleet in Suluan ''(Homonhon)'' and the treaty with the natives featured in a blog post in 2004.[9] It first came out in an article published in 1934 in Philippine Magazine featured by Percy Gil, and once again featured by Bambi Harper in her column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer back in 2004.

In the afternoon of the same day, Magellan instructed his comrades to plant a large wooden cross on the top of the hill overlooking the sea.[10] Magellan's chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, who recorded the event said:

"After the cross was erected in position, each of us repeated a Pater Noster and an Ave Maria, and adored the cross; and the kings [Colambu and Siaiu] did the same."[11]

Magellan then took ownership of the islands where he had landed in the name of King Charles V which he had named earlier on March 16 Archipelago of Saint Lazarus because it was the day of the saint when the Armada reached the archipelago.[6][8]

In the Account of Francisco Albo, he did not mention about the first mass in the Philippines but only the planting of the cross upon a mountain top from which could be seen three islands to the west and southwest, where they were told there was much gold. This also fits the southern end of Limasawa. It does not suits the coast of Butuan from which no islands could be seen to the south or the southwest, but only towards the north.[4]

Some Filipino historians have long contested the idea that Limasawa was the site of the first Catholic mass in the country.[16] Historian Sonia Zaide identified Masao (also Mazaua) in Butuan as the location of the first Christian mass.[10] 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.[17] 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.[18]

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.[19] 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.[20][21]

According to Bernad (2002)[22], the confusion originated on the misinterpretation of some of the 17th century historians such as Colin and Combes, often yielding incorrect representation of Magellan’s voyage, which ultimately led to the misconception of the first mass being held at Butuan, rather than Limasawa. The writings of the previous historians failed to depict the correct route of Magellan’s ships toward the Philippines. Some write-ups accounted for the entrance of the ships from the southern part of the country whereas the account of Antonio Pigafetta revealed the entrance from the eastern part of the country, from the direction of the Pacific region [23].

Of utmost significance other than the non-verisimilar picture of the route of the voyage is the confusion on the encounter between the explorer Ferdinand Magellan and the two datus when the former reached the island of Limasawa, formerly called "Mazaua". According to the previous writings, after the Spaniards visited the island, they went, together with the two native kings to Butuan and there erected a cross on top of a hill to symbolize friendship with the natives and to serve as a sign to future Spanish explorers. After the erection of the cross and going about the events in the first mass, the men went to Cebu, by the initiative of Magellan, in search for resources.

This account rooted from the misunderstanding of the meeting between the three persons. According to Pigafetta, Magellan met the datu of Limasawa, and another datu, whom the scribe himself called “one of his brothers”, namely the king of Butuan. This highlights the origin of the confusion – Magellan in fact never went to Butuan; he and his men celebrated the first mass on the island of Limasawa, together with the two datus: one from the island and another from Butuan, before proceeding to Cebu.

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. After celebrating the first mass in that same island, the explorer and his men set out for Cebu in search for greater resources.