2. Findings
The commission concluded that the First Mass was held in
Limasawa after it found that:
l The most complete and reliable account of the Magellan
expedition into Philippine shores in 1521 is that of Antonio Pigafetta
which is deemed as the only credible primary source of reports on
the celebration of the first Christian Mass on Philippine soil.
l James Robertson's English translation of the original Italian
manuscript of Pigaffeta's account is most reliable for being
''faithful'' to the original text as duly certified by the University of
the Philippines' Department of European Language.
3. l Pigafetta's Mazaua, the site of the first Christian Mass held on
Philippine soil, is an island lying off the southwestern tip of Leyte
while Masao in Butuan is not an island, but a barangay of Butuan
City located in a delta of the Agusan River along the coast of
Northern Mindanao. The position of Mazaua, as plotted by
Pigafetta, matched that of Limasawa.
l The measurement of distances between Homonhon and Limasawa
between Limasawa and Cebu, as computed by the pro-Limasawa
group, matches or approximates the delineations made by Pigafetta
of the distances between Homonhon and Mazaua and between
Mazaua and Cebu.
4. l Magellan's fleet took a route from Homonhon
to Mazaua and from Mazaua to Cebu that did
not at any time touch Butuan or any other part
of Mindanao. The docking facilities at
Limasawa did not pose any problem for
Magellan's fleet which anchored near or at
some safe distance from the island of the
eastern shore.
5. To the Gancayco Commission, ''History is both a
useful and fascinating subject. As one travels
through time, one is bound to find it rich in
stories. Every kind of testimony is drawn upon
from eyewitness accounts to statistical tables.
Personal records, such as diaries, can certainly
tell more than the official documents.
''One of the great delights of time travel is
encountering the unfamiliar for that is what
brings history to life. We use history, not to tell us
what happened or to explain the past, but make
the past alive so that it can explain us and make
a future possible,'' the commission said, quoting
from Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American
Mind.
6. In writing and end to the controversy, the commission
said it proceeded with utmost care.
It said that the conclusion was made to enlighten the
current generation and remove all confusion about where
the First Mass was held in the Philippines.
Paraphrasing Adlai Stevenson's, ''We can chart our
future clearly and wisely when we know the path that
has led to the present,'' the panel said: ''The path is now
conclusively established to have begun at the island of
Limasawa where the first ever Christian Mass on
Philippine soil was offered on March 31, 1521 by
Ferdinand Magellan and his men.''
