Homonhon island in Guiuan, E. Samar Magellan Landing Site: Where the 1st Mass was held in the Phl

CEBU, Philippines - This is the exact spot where on March 16, 1521, Portugese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his men first landed in the Philippines, partook of drinking water and took a weeklong respite.

At this site, a wild moss-covered cove gently exposed to the curious eyes of tourists and researchers an original stone carved with the name of Magellan and recognized by the Philippine Historical Commission as the exact place of the Magellan Landing.

The stone ranks with the Plymouth Rock of pilgrims and famed for its priceless and historical value. In 1958, the then Samar Governor Decoroso Rosales erected the Magellan Cross to mark the spot, but eventually as the years passed most of the markings had vanished.

However, the natives of Homonhon, and recently the local government officials and religious leaders have declared the whole Magellan landing site in this island as the first place where the first Mass was held in the Philippines.