On Christianity in the Philippines and the Devotion to Santo Niño In the Philippines, the 3 rd Sunday of January is the Feast of Santo Niño. Connected with this Feast is our commemoration of the Coming of Christianity in the Philippines in 1521. The year 2021 is the celebration of the 500 th year since the Cross of Jesus Christ stood and the First Holy Mass celebrated on our Land. Fray Pedro Valderrama, the Chaplain of the Magallanes’ expedition, officiated the Mass and the Baptism of the first natives to accept Christianity. The Navigator Fernando Magallanes reached the shores of Samar on the 5 th Sunday of Lent of 1521. He saw the many islands and named them as the Archipelago of Saint Lazarus because the Gospel of that day was the raising up from the dead of Saint Lazarus. The explorers continued sailing and reached the island of Limasawa where they were peacefully received by the King of Butuan, Rajah Culambo, who also ruled over Limasawa. According to Antonio Pigaffeta, th