Church historians reject Butuan, uphold Limasawa as site of first mass in PHL

Church historians rejected new claims that the supposed site of the first mass in the country is in Butuan City.

The Church Historians’ Association of the Philippines (CHAP) the said claim made in the book written by Joesilo Amalla, a Catholic priest, is “substantially misleading and methodologically erroneous.” 

“As historians and scholars, we therefore consider its findings and conclusions unacceptable,” CHAP said in a statement.  

Instead, CHAP said it backed the position of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) that the location of the first mass in the country held in 1521 Easter Sunday is in Limasawa, Southern Leyte.

Last year, NHCP issued a resolution to formalize Limasawa as the site for the first mass in time for the 500 years anniversary of the arrival of Christianity this year.  

“We agree with its findings. The evidence currently available suggests Limasawa, Southern Leyte, as the site of the first Easter Sunday Mass. Scholarly consensus at present likewise supports this position,” CHAP said. 

CHAP was asked by the Episcopal Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church (ECCHC) of the the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to determine the exact location of the historic event. 

It participated in the “Mojares Panel” organized by the NHCP to re-examine if the first mass was held in Southern Leyte or in Butuan.  

“In honouring the NHCP invitation to the Mojares Panel, the CBCP-ECCHC sent its Church History Team – whose members offered their comments at the Panel’s instance – as observers,” CHAP said. 

“The NHCP-NQC initiative was warmly received, and the opportunity to cooperate and collaborate was deemed mutually beneficial, especially considering the lack of resources of the CBCP and the CHAP and the inherent difficulties involved in the undertaking,” it added.

Image credits: PNA Tacloban photo