Butuan to pursue claim it was site of First Mass in RP 485 years ago

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- Ben Serrano () - April 2, 2006 - 12:00am
BUTUAN CITY — The event that marked the birth of Christianity in the Philippines 485 years ago is
still under dispute, with this city renewing its claim that the historic first Mass celebrated by Spanish
colonizers was held here and not in Limasawa, Leyte.

Local executives and Church officials as well as historians here said they have new scientific
evidence to substantiate the re-filing of a petition before the National Historical Institute (NHI)
asserting that Butuan City — particularly Mazzaua Island, now Barangay Pinamangculan — was the
official site of the first Mass on Easter Sunday in 1521.

Among the pieces of evidence are 10 1,600-year-old Balahanghai boats believed to have been used
for trade and to transport people for worship services.

"We waited for more scientific evidences to strongly substantiate the Mazzaua claim until
geomorphologists and archeologists came up with official reports that indeed Mazzaua Island was
the site of the first Mass," Fr. Joesilo Amalia, trustee of the Butuan City Cultural and Historical
Foundation Inc. and curator of the Butuan Diocese Museum told The STAR yesterday.

A law was passed by Congress on June 19, l960, or Republic Act No. 2733, declared the site of
Magallanes on Limasawa Island as the national shrine to commemorate the first Mass ever held in
the country that gave birth to Christianity in this now predominantly Catholic nation.

But the Butuan City Cultural and Historical Foundation Inc., (BCHFI) with the backing of the Butuan
City government in the early 1980s up to the ’90s, contested the declaration. This prompted the
government in 1994 to form the Gancayco Commission headed by then Supreme Court Associate
Justice Emilio Gancayco.

In 1996, the commission penned a resolution in favor of the Limasawa Island claim. However, the
BCHFI said the NHI board failed to concur with the Gancayco findings.

"This prompted BCHFI to continuously raise our protest," Amalia said.

Two weeks ago, NHI chairman Ambeth Ocampo, who visited the Butuan City Regional Museum
here, told BCHFI officials that the NHI is keen on resurrecting the Mazzaua "First Mass" claim.

BCHFI officials are set to meet today with local officials, historians and Church leaders at the Butuan
City Regional Museum to discuss the contents of the BCHFI position paper to be submitted to NHI,
Amalia said.

New proof
According to BCHFI, it has gathered 28 new pieces of scientific evidence and comparisons between
the two islands — Mazzaua and Limasawa — to substantiate Butuan’s claim, including the recovery
of 10 Balahanghai boats which were accidentally dug up near Masao River in 1976. A shrine was
built for the ancient boats which were used by natives in Butuan for sea travel even before the
Spaniards came.

The Philippine government has endorsed the Balanghai Shrine to the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a "World Historical and Cultural Heritage Site"
because of its contribution to ancient culture and history.
According to Amalia, once UNESCO recognizes the Balanghai Shrine, it will put Butuan City on the
world map as a "historical and cultural heritage site."

Amalia said they are hoping the NHI will listen this time, pointing out that the claim for the site of the
First Mass must be substantiated by scientific proof, not just by passing a law which, he insisted, had
no scientific basis.

Amalia officiated a Mass yesterday commemorating the 485th Anniversary of the First Mass at the
site with local government officials headed by City Mayor Democrito Plaza, Church leaders and
other officials.

In his homily, Amalia urged Butuanons to unite in support of their claim, saying the distinction of
having hosted the first Mass not only is a symbol of the beginning of Christianity in the Philippines,
but also a symbol of its spiritual value to the people.

Read more at https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2006/04/02/329389/butuan-pursue-

claim-it-was-site-first-mass-rp-485-years-ago#a5bO14oezuAhUmXC.99
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2006/04/02/329389/butuan-pursue-claim-it-was-site-first-mass-
rp-485-years-ago

2. https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/budhi/article/view/582/579

3. https://www.scribd.com/document/19293709/Interpreting-the-First-Mass

Where was the first Mass in the

Philippines held?
1
BY EFREN L. DANAO ON JANUARY 23, 2015FEATURED COLUMNS, OP-ED COLUMNS

Twitter
THE visit of Pope Francis will inevitably resurrect a controversial and unresolved issue on
the introduction of Christianity to the Philippines – just where was the first Holy Mass
celebrated? On his arrival, the Pope noted that the Church in the Philippines was preparing
to celebrate the fifth centenary of the “first proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on
these shores.”

The introduction of Christianity on Philippine shores is generally linked to the celebration of

the first Holy Mass, and Butuan City and Limasawa, Southern Leyte, both claim to be the
venue of this historical religious rite. A dear friend, Rolly Narciso, is among those feverishly
pushing for the official recognition of Masau in Butuan City as the true site. It’s hope that
this controversy in the country’s history will have been resolved by March 31, 2015 when
the Philippines celebrates its 500th year of Christianization.
Actually, the National Historical Institute (NHI) has already reached a conclusion after a two-
year study. In 1996, it reaffirmed the popular belief propelled by Republic Act 2733 that the
first Holy Mass was celebrated in Limasawa Island on March 31, 1521.The NHI cited the
memoirs of Antonio Pigafetta, who chronicled the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan, as “the
only credible primary source that yields the best evidence of the celebration of the first
Christian Mass on Philippine soil.” This issue, however, remains debatable despite the
pronouncement from the NHI.

Tomas “Buddy” Gomez 3rd, a one-time press secretary of President Cory, disagreed with
the NHI on naming Limasawa as the true venue and called for the correction of this “long-
standing historical error.” No, he doesn’t contest that Pigafetta had indeed written that a
Mass was held in Limasawa on that Easter Sunday, March 31, 1521,
“There us, however, on inescapable and irrefutable fact: “Pigafetta NEVER said that the
Easter Mass in Limasawa was the ‘first.’ Neither did any of the survivors of Magellan’s
expedition,” Buddy added in a post to his Facebook friends, including this columnist.

He noted that while a Jesuit wrote in 1663 that the first Mass was held in Limasawa, he
considered this as a mere opinion and not a fact. He lamented that subsequent “copycat”
historians entrenched this “historical error.”

“An unrecorded first Mass, of necessity, comes springing out into more credible contention,”
Buddy wrote.

He wondered if a Mass was celebrated on Philippine shores before the 1521 Easter
Sunday. He cited records showing that Magellan stayed in Homonhon (now a part of Samar
Island) for eight days, including March 24 which was Palm Sunday.

“Is Easter Sunday Mass ever celebrated without being preceded by Mass on a Palm
Sunday,” he asked. He then argued that the First Mass could actually have been held not in
Limasawa or Masau but in Homonhon.

He expressed the hope that Pope Francis would return to the Philippines when the country
celebrates its Fifth Centenary of Christianity and that by then “all historical inexactitude”
would have been resolved collectively by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines and the leadership of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

Cory’s birthday

The relatives and many admirers of the late President Cory Aquino will be commemorating
her birthday tomorrow, January 25. Like many, I grieved on her death in August 2009. Her
death was a tragedy, rendered more sorrowful by the greater tragedy of her only son’s
being elected to Malacañang by sentimental voters. Why couldn’t she have lived longer or
until after the 2010 presidential election?

I also grieve on the death of an old friend, former Rep. Mike Romero of Negros Oriental. He
always had a sunny disposition, even when he was on the verge of death and needing a
kidney transplant. He served for three terms in the House (1987 to 1998) and provided
invaluable services to his constituents. I once heard then Sen. Ernesto Maceda proclaim
that if he were to choose the five most outstanding congressmen at that time, Mike Romero
would be one of them. I must add though that the other Negros Oriental congressmen from
1987 to 1998, Gary Teves and Jerry Paras, were equally outstanding. It’s very rare for a
province to have all its representatives perform exceptionally well.

Mike was in the board of the Philippine National Bank and, after its privatization, in the
Development Bank of the Philippines. We met occasionally in important meetings of the
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, which he refused to abandon even after it had fallen off
its lofty political status.

https://www.manilatimes.net/first-mass-philippines-held/157730/