top of page

Remembering the First Easter Mass in the Philippines

  • Writer: Bicolmail Web Admin
    Bicolmail Web Admin
  • Apr 2, 2021
  • 1 min read

Five hundred years ago, the thirty first of March was Easter Sunday. On that Easter Sunday, the first Mass was celebrated in Limasawa even before the archipelago was named Philippines. The mass was presided by Fr. Pedro Valderrama, chaplain of the Magellan voyage.


Magellan had named the Philippine islands the “Archipelago of St. Lazarus.” On the day he first sighted land (March 16, 1521), it was a Saturday, the eve of Passion Sunday, when in the old Roman liturgy, the gospel was the resurrection of St. Lazarus.


In a resolution dated September 25, 2020, CBCP accepted the results of the National Historical Commission recognizing Limasawa, located in today’s Southern Leyte, as the site of the said event.

A painting of the ‘First Easter Mass at Limasawa’ (1965) by National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco, on display at the National Museum of Fine Arts

Recent Posts

See All
THE WORD OF THE LORD

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 Responsorial Psalm Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24. R. (2a) My God,...

 
 
 
Maghapot kita ki Father

Dear Father Bill, Harani na an Semana Santa. Tano po ta inapod na Holy Week? Ano an pwedeng gibohon kan mga tao sa panahon na ini? ...

 
 
 

Comments


bottom of page