500th anniversary of first recorded mass in the Philippines held on Limasawa Island

Maasin Bishop Precioso Cantillas led the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the country's first recorded Mass on Limasawa Island off Southern Leyte on Wednesday, according to a post on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

“The church that Jesus established and we who are his disciples should also be aggressive in proclaiming God’s loving and saving presence today and until the end of time in the places we live and work,” Cantillas said in his homily.

The celebration is part of the yearlong commemoration of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines and the opening of the “Jubilee Door” in Shrine of the Holy Cross and the First Mass on Limasawa Island.

A fluvial procession, carrying the pilgrim image of Sto. Niño de Cebu, was held  from Maasin to Limasawa.

Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles John Brown was able to make to the Mass because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Brown, in his message that was delivered during the event, he said that the occasion serves as an invitation for the Philippine church to again “go forth and become a community of authentic missionary disciples”.

“The love of Christ made present in every celebration of the Holy Mass impels us to proclaim the Gospel we have received to all the world,” he added. -- BAP, GMA News