The Diocese of Maasin in the central Philippines has unveiled a painting depicting the First Easter Sunday Mass in the Philippines that took place on Limasawa Island 500 years ago.
Bishop Prescioso Cantillas of Maasin led the unveiling of the art work on the island on March 22 ahead of the quincentennial celebration of the historic Mass.
The ceremony also coincided with the start of a Novena Mass leading to the grand celebration on March 31.
The 10×5 acrylic painting by Dionisio Gayo, a member of the diocese’s youth ministry, depicts a priest surrounded by Spanish troops and locals of the island raising the Host.
“The painting is a liturgically accurate presentation of the very moment of the elevation of the Most Holy Body of Our Lord during the historic event of the First Easter Mass,” said Father Mark Vincent Salang, the diocese’s chancellor.
“In creating it, the artist considered the observations and descriptions of Antonio Pigafetta in his chronicles of the Magellan expedition,” he said.
Titled “First Easter Mass in the Philippines,” the painting will be displayed in the planned Cultural Heritage Museum of the diocese.
