First Mass In The Philippines.pptx

SITE OF THE FIRST MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Masao (Butuan) or Limasawa (Southern Leyte)

According to Pigafetta • The site of the first mass was on the island of “Mazaua” • Easter Sunday, 31st of March 1521 • Two native chieftains were in attendance: Rajah of Mazaua and Rajah of Butuan, • After the mass, a wooden cross was planted on the hill upon its summit

Masao • The Butuan Tradition Butuan claim rests upon a tradition that was almost unanimous and unbroken for three centuries, namely the 17th, 18th, and the 19th century. The date given in the First Mass was April 8, 1521. A monument was erected in 1872 as to strengthen the tradition.

Masao • “To the Immortal Magellan: the People of Butuan with their Parish Priest and the Spaniards resident therein, to commemorate his arrival and the celebration of the First Mass on this site on the 8th of April 1521. Erected in 1872, under the District Governor Jose Ma. Carvallo.”

Masao • 17th Century Father Francisco Colin S.J (Labor evangelica) “On Easter Day, in the territory of Butuan, the first Mass ever offered in these parts was celebrated and a cross planted.” Father Francisco Combes S.J (Historia de Mindanao y Jolo) “Magellan landed at Butuan and there planted the cross in a solemn ceremony.” Comparison of both accounts (Colin and Combes)

Masao • 18th Century One passage in Colin which seems to have been misunderstood, and misled some later writers. Fray Juan de la Concepcion, one of the major historians who made the error related to Colin.

Masao • 19th Century Fray Joaquin Martinez de Zuñiga (Historia de Filipinas) The Butuan tradition was taken for granted since misstatements in the passages are numerous if compared to the account of Pigafetta.

Shift of opinion from masao to limasawa • Emma Blair and James Alexander Robertson • Father Pablo Pastells S.J  The rediscovery of Pigafetta’s account and Albo’s log book are the reasons of the shift of opinion.

• Trinidad Pardo de Tavera and Jayme de Veyra

Limasawa evidences

1. The evidence of Albo’s LogBook

Limasawa evidences 1. The evidence of Pigafetta a) b) c) d) e)

Pigafetta’s testimony regarding the route; The evidence of Pigafetta’s map; The two native king; The seven days at “Mazaua”; An argument from omission

Limasawa evidences • Ferdinand Magellan anchored off the eastern shore of a small island called Mazaua. There they stayed a week, during which on Easter Sunday the celebrated Mass and planted the cross on the summit of the highest hill.

Limasawa evidences • The island of Mazaua lies at a latitude of nine and two-thirds degrees North. • It is located on the south of Leyte, and its latitude correspond to the position and latitude of the island of Limasawa, whose southern top lies at 9 degrees and 54 minutes North.

Limasawa evidences • From the island of Mazaua, the expedition sailed northwestwards through the Canigao channel between Bohol and Leyte, then northwards parallel to the eastern coast of this latter island, then they sailed westward to the Camotes Group and from there southwestwards to Cebu. • No point in that itinerary did the expedition of Magellan go to Butuan. The survivors of the expedition did go to Mindanao later, but after Magellan’s death.

Limasawa evidences • Pilots of the Legazpi Expedition understood that Mazaua was an island near Leyte and Panaon; Butuan was on the island of Mindanao. The two were different places and in no wise identical

Limasawa • The most complete and reliable account of the Magellan expedition into Philippine shores in 1521 is that of Antonio Pigafetta which is deemed as the only credible primary source of reports on the celebration of the first Christian Mass on Philippine soil. • James Robertson's English translation of the original Italian manuscript of Pigaffeta'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.

References • Arnaiz, J. (2000, April 15). First Mass Controversy: It’s Limasawa. Retrieved from http://firstcircumnavigator.tripod.com/limasawa.htm. • Bernad, M. A., (2002). Butuan or Limasawa: The Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A Reexamination of the Evidence. Retrieved from https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/budhi/article/vie w/582/579. • Blair, E., Robertson, J. (1906). The Philippine Islands Vol. XXXIII 1519-1522. Retrieved from www.gutenberg.org/files/42884/42884-h/42884-h.htm.