AS THE quincentenary of the first Catholic Mass held in the Philippines nears, the controversy over whether it was held in Limasawa, Leyte or in Mazaua, Butuan remains unresolved.
The Diocese of Maasin in Southern Leyte has launched a 10-year preparation period for the upcoming milestone, an initiative of the diocese during the 490th anniversary of the first Mass in Limasawa, last March 31.
“We intend to spend the coming 10 years with more dedication to the mission of evangelization and a more intense life of Communion in faith, hope and love for God and one another,” Maasin Bishop Precioso Cantillas said in an article published in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website.
The diocese will adopt the theme “Renewed Evangelization,” in accord with CBCP’s proclamation of years 2011 to 2020 as the Decade of Renewed Evangelization.
Limasawa or Mazaua?
Department of History chair Augusto de Viana said that “considering the declaration made by [the] National Historical Commission (NHC), the first Mass was held in Limasawa.”
Historian and former UST archivist Fr. Fidel Villarroel, O.P. supported De Viana’s claim, adding that while chronicler Antonio Pigafetta did not mention Limasawa in his account, he wrote about the celebration of the first Mass in full detail.
“Early on the morning of Sunday, the captain-general sent the priest with some men to prepare the place where Mass was to be said. When the hour for Mass arrived, they landed with about fifty men without their body armor, clad in their best clothes,” Pigafetta wrote in his book, First Voyage Around the World.
Pigafetta noted that during the Mass, offerings were given and the Holy Communion was received by Magellan’s troops.
There are historians from Mazaua, Butuan who claim that the first Mass was held there and not in Leyte. There is a marker in Mindanao used by historians to prove this claim.
De Viana said Butuan historians claim that Mazaua used to be a separate island during the time of Magellan, but as centuries passed by, erosions happened and the island was attached to mainland Mindanao.
Butuan historians, according to De Viana, argue that it was impossible for Magellan’s troops to dock in Limasawa because of the leeward direction of the current and strong winds blowing from the Pacific.
Settling the controversy
In an attempt to set things straight, NHC held three roundtable discussions in the 1980s, 1996, and 2008 to debate the exact location of the first Mass and come up with a declaration.
“The three roundtable discussions resulted only in one declaration—considering the island of Limasawa, Leyte as the site of the first Mass. The NHC also tried to translate the Italian account of Pigafetta word for word. There was a conflict in measurement but as they plotted this to the map, it was really in Limasawa,” De Viana said.
But De Viana noted that even the commission itself expressed doubts if the Mass celebrated in Limasawa was really the first, considering that Magellan might have celebrated Masses aboard the ship.
Villarroel said there are other ways to solve the debate aside from relying on the account of Pigafetta.
“Aside from Pigafetta, there is no other source that I know. He was the chronicler of Magellan and he had detailed accounts on what transpired at that time,” Villarroel said.
De Viana said historians might use three ways to “solve the controversy”–the analysis of texts such as the accounts of Pigafetta and the log books of the captains of the ship, scientific analysis of rocks by historians, and the re-enactment of the events based on documents.
De Viana countered claims that the first Mass was held in Homonhon and Pangasinan, saying that the troops of Magellan landed in Homonhon only to rest.
But regardless where the first Mass was held, Villarroel said the landmark event was very crucial to the foundation of Christianity in the Philippines.
“The most important thing is we had the first Mass. If there has none, there might be no UST today and we might not be celebrating its 400 years of existence,” Villarroel said.
