He first Catholic mass in the Philippines happened on March 31, 1521, just three days after Ferdinand Magellan landed on Philippine shore. This event is seen to be the birth of Roman Catholicism in the country.
The location of the mass was contentious. Originally it was thought to be in the island of Limasawa, in Leyte, but other historians argue that a mistranslation resulted to that error, and that the place should be Butuan (the place where theGolden Tara was also discovered).
That issue reached the Congress, which in 1996 directed the National Historical Institute to recommend a historical finding . The panel was composed of several historians, some of which became my professors in UP Diliman Department of History. The panel and the NHI reaffirmed in 1998 that the place is Limasawa, but the controversy is still alive until today.
The painting above, First Mass at Limasawa, was painted by National Artist Carlos "Botong" Francisco, in 1965. It is now on display at the National Art Gallery of the National Museum of the Philippines.
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