First Mass on Samal

Until the arrival of the Jesuits in 1868, Christianization of areas north of the gulf of Davao was inexistent. Earlier, the Recollects penetrated regions in the eastern seaboard of Davao, but their efforts to convert indigenous tribes and Moros to the faith were limited.

The first batch of Jesuits to set foot in Davao on October 7, 1868, was comprised of Fr. Juan Bautista, superior of the Davao mission, Fr. Domingo Bove and Fr. Ramon Pamies, and Br. Antonio Gairolas, a lay brother. At the time the Recollect parish priest was Fray Francisco Lenguas.

Barely had the group taken over from the Recollects when the Jesuit missionaries decided to make their first outreach in the island of Samal whose residents were instrumental in providing Jose Oyanguren, conqueror of Davao, the needed information that led to the fall of Datu Bago’s enclave at the mouth of Davao River.

The Samal sortie was joined by the governor and other officials and was met by a large crowd on the shore. Politely welcomed, the visitors were led to the datu’s residence where they disclosed the agenda to teach the children how to reach and write, introduce them to the Christian faith, and, on a voluntary basis, be baptized. The third plan was strongly opposed.

Not wanting to agitate the crowd further, the governor proposed that the people in the locality build a house for the priests, but the opposition only heightened. The people thought the request as another form of forced labor, which they opposed in the past. With temperature rising, there was no other option but to leave the island and return to Davao.

With the tension gone, the priests thought the residents had finally accepted their plans. But this was not so. After the Mass, the people left, leaving the settlement abandoned and the construction of the house unfinished. The culprit was the governor’s order requiring the residents to start paying tribute. It was only after the priests had convinced the people to return with the help of a retired public official that they went back to the village; three villages were formed.

Fr. Bernad wrote: “When the Fathers’ house was completed and sixty families had built their huts, a solemn inauguration of Casalucan village was held. The governor, other officials, and some residents of Davao came, as well as a brass band. The multitudes gathered. High Mass was sung in the morning and a procession held in the afternoon. The band provided music and there were fireworks. But the best parts of the feast were the slaughter of two young bulls and a free dinner for all.”

While everything seemed right, the governor committed again another gaffe after he revived the subject of paying tribute. Sarcastically, the datu offered to the governor gold and silver and asked how many persons would be covered by the quantity of minerals presented. After weighing the minerals and told how many would be covered, the datu gathered the gold and silver and left, with the village people in tow. Once again, the community was emptied.

Although the residents later returned to their settlement, another blunder was committed when some members of the community were asked to cut timber in Davao. Finding tribute and forced labor as inconsistent with the stance of the Samal people, the priests decided to leave the island and accepted the reality that their first attempt to evangelize Samal ended in failure.

To address the knotty issues, the missionaries later decided to conduct house-to-house visits in areas where the people built their dwellings. They also learned that while the government was helpful in the pursuit of missionary engagements, the policies it adopted were key obstacles in the fruitful conversions of Moros in the island. With the state closely working as part of the evangelization efforts, the people viewed such participation as a form of colonization. Espousing this method of evangelizing people in domiciles later bore fruit. Though this was arduous and backbreaking, the strategy succeeded. Without coercion, the conversions expanded. (33)