The First Mass in the Philippines, March 31, AD 1521 ~ An eyewitness account by Antonio Pigafetta

The first Mass in the Philippines at Limasawa by Lori Kauffmann. This image
appears on the cover of The Story of the Philippines: God's Rampart in Asia 
by Philip Campbell.

In the year of our Lord 1521, on Easter Sunday, March 31, the first Mass on what would later be known as the Philippine archipelago was said on a small island known as Limasawa. Little did those attending that Mass realize that the seed planted that day would blossom into a brilliant faith that, 500 years later, would make the Philippines one of the most devoutly Catholic nations in the world.

An account of that epochal event exists, written by Antonio Pigafetta, a Venetian accompanying Ferdinand Magellan on his voyage of circumnavigation, who kept a detailed journal of events: Here is Pigafetta's account, along with some extra details of what happened next:  

On Sunday, the last day of March, and feast of Easter, the captain sent the chaplain ashore early to say Mass, and the interpreter went with him to tell the king that they were not coming on shore to dine with him, but only to hear the mass. The king hearing that sent two dead pigs. 

When it was time for saying Mass the captain went ashore with fifty men, not with their arms, but only with their swords, and dressed as well as each one was able to dress, and before the boats reached the shore our ships fired six cannon shots as a sign of peace. At our landing the two kings were there, and received our captain in a friendly manner, and placed him between them, and then we went to the place prepared for saying Mass, which was not far from the shore. Before the mass began the captain threw a quantity of musk rosewater on those two kings, and when the offertory of the Mass came, the two kings went to kiss the cross like us, but they offered nothing, and at the elevation of the body of our Lord they were kneeling like us, and adored Our Lord with joined hands. The ships fired all their artillery at the elevation of the body of our Lord. 

After Mass had been said each one did the duty of a Christian, receiving our Lord. After that the captain had some sword-play by his people, which gave great pleasure to the kings. Then he had a cross brought, with the nails and crown, to which the kings made reverence, and the captain had them told that these things which he showed them were the sign of the emperor his lord and master, from whom he had charge and commandment to place it in all places where he might go or pass by. He told them that he wished to place it in their country for their profit, because if there came afterwards any ships from Spain to those islands, on seeing this cross, they would know that we had been there, and therefore they would not cause them any displeasure to their persons nor their goods; and if they took any of their people, on showing them this sign, they would at once let them go. Besides this, the captain told them that it was necessary that this cross should be placed on the summit of the highest mountain in their country, so that seeing it every day they might adore it, and that if they did thus, neither thunder, lightning, nor the tempest could do them hurt. 

The kings thanked the captain, and said they would do it willingly. Then he asked whether they were Moors or Gentiles, and in what they believed. They answered that they did not perform any other adoration, but only joined their hands, looking up to heaven, and that they called their God, Aba. Hearing this, the captain was very joyful, on seeing that, the first king raised his hands to the sky and said that he wished it were possible for him to be able to show the affection which he felt towards him. 

The interpreter asked him for what reason there was so little to eat in that place, to which the king replied that he did not reside in that place except when he came to hunt and to see his brother, but that he lived in another island where he had all his family. Then the captain asked him if he had any enemies who made war upon him, and that if he had any he would go and defeat them with his men and ships, to put them under his obedience. The king thanked him, and answered that there were two islands the inhabitants of which were his enemies; however, that for the present it was not the time to attack them. The captain therefore said to him that if God permitted him to return another time to this country, he would bring so many men that he would put them by force under his obedience.

As it worked out, Magellan did make an attack—an ill-advised assault on Lapu Lapu and his warriors at the Battle of Mactan about a month later. The Spaniards were repulsed with heavy losses, among them Ferdinand Magellan himself who was struck by poison arrows, stabbed, and eventually hacked to pieces. A nice vignette-account of this battle and Magellan's end may be found in Philip Campbell's Story of the Philippines: God's Rampart in Asia.

As for Antonio Pigafetta, he witnessed the battle but was able to escape when the Spanish withdrew. He would eventually make it back to Spain with the few survivors of the voyage. A few years thereafter, he managed to get his journal published. It has survived to this day, and is one of the key primary sources of the Age of Exploration. 

Pigafetta would later join the Knights of Rhodes who had recently been expelled from their island fortress by the Turks. It is at this point that Pigafetta disappears from history. What few details remain of his life may be found in this bio-bibliographical note.