Holy Cross and First Mass Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Limasawa, Southern Leyte, Philippines. Its patroness is Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Our Lady of the Pillar).
Table of Contents
History
Limasawa Island is considered the birthplace of Christianity in the Philippines, tracing its history to the first Catholic Easter Sunday mass held at the beginning of the Spanish conquest.
Colonizer Ferdinand Magellan sailed from Europe to establish a maritime route for trading spices to the Moluccas in 1521, and his expedition reached Homonhon Island on March 16 of the same year. On March 28, 1521, as they sailed westward they reached an island called Mazava/Mazaua. They were welcomed by the natives led by Rajah Kolambu, the chieftain of the island, and his sibling Rajah Siagu, the king of Butuan and Calagan (Caraga).
On Easter Sunday, March 31, 1521, the Spaniards set foot in the island to celebrate the First Easter Mass by Augustinian friar Fr. Pedro de Valderama on Philippine soil and to plant a cross.
From Magellan’s exploration up to 1921, Mazava/Mazaua was thought to be located at the mouth of Agusan River in the present-day town of Magallanes in northeastern Mindanao. Since then, historians identified Limasawa Island as the site of the country’s first Easter Sunday Mass following the publication of the logbook of Victoria, one of the ships in Magellan’s fleet.
Limasawa was previously part of Malitbog and then of Padre Burgos. It became a town by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1549 in 1978, but its status was not realized. Through a presidential issuance on March 17, 1989, a plebiscite was held and the electorate approved its creation as an independent municipality.
Magallanes, Limasawa was declared National Shrine by virtue of Republic Act No. 2733 on June 19, 1960. Following the report by the Mojares Panel in 2020, the site of the first mass was declared to be in Triana.
The church was established in 1994.
Celebration
The anniversary of the First Easter Sunday Mass is held every March 31st. The feast day of Our Lady of the Pillar is October 12.
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of Shrine of the Holy Cross and the First Mass Church in Limasawa, Southern Leyte from June 9, 2025 to June 15, 2025. Please reach out to the church for an updated schedule. Additionally, you may also want to view mass schedules of churches in Limasawa.
Monday
- No mass schedule found.
Tuesday
- No mass schedule found.
Wednesday
- 5:30-6:30 PM
Thursday
- 5:30-6:30 PM
Friday
- 5:30-6:30 PM
Saturday
- No mass schedule found.
Sunday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Triana)
- 8:30-9:30 AM (Lugsongan)
- 10:00-11:00 AM (Magallanes)
- 4:00-5:00 PM (San Agustin)
- 5:30-6:30 (San Bernardo)
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | Shrine of the Holy Cross and the First Mass Church in Limasawa, Southern Leyte |
| Address | Limasawa, Southern Leyte 6618 |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | 0906 081 0475 |
| limasawa1994@gmail.com | |
| www.facebook.com | |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1994 |
| Age | 31 years |
| Status | National Shrine, Parish |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu |
| Diocese | Diocese of Maasin |
| Vicariate | Vicariate of Sto. Niño |
| Patron | Holy Cross, Our Lady of the Pillar |
| Feast day | October 12 |
Nearby Churches
- Mary Mediatrix of All Grace Church in Ichon, Macrohon, Southern Leyte
- San Roque Church in Mabolo, Macrohon, Southern Leyte
- San Vicente de Ferrer Chaplaincy in San Vicente, Malitbog, Southern Leyte
- Santo Niño Church in Malitbog, Southern Leyte
- St. James the Apostle Church in Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte
- St. Michael the Archangel Church in Macrohon, Southern Leyte
References
- Diocese of Maasin. Retrieved December 7, 2023
- Pigafetta, Antonio. The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XXXIII. Translator James Alexander Robertson. Project Gutenberg, June 5, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2023
- First Mass in the Philippines. National Historical Commission of the Philippines. October 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2023
- History of Limasawa. Provincial Government of Southern Leyte. Retrieved December 7, 2023
- Presidential Decree No. 1549, s. 1978. Official Gazette of the Philippines. Retrieved December 7, 2023
- Anna Regidor. Limasawa vs. Butuan: the first Easter Mass. Diliman Information Office. University of the Philippines – Diliman. April 16, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2023
- Ador Vincent S. Mayol, Joey Gabieta. Limasawa, not Butuan, affirmed as site of first Mass in PH. Philippine Daily Inquirer. August 21, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2023
- REPUBLIC ACT NO. 2733. Supreme Court of the Philippines E-Library. Retrieved December 8, 2023
- Mojares Panel Report. National Historical Commission of the Philippines. 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2023