One of the claimants for the first mass in Luzon is the town of Magallanes in Sorsogon. Every year in October, a mass at the Gibalon Shrine in the village of Siuton is held to commemorate the mass that was held in 1569.

The Gibalon shrine is shaped like the galleon that was used by the Spaniards to reach this part of Bicol. The shrine stands just at the foot of a hill. The Gibalon Chapel, on the other hand, stands just in front of the shrine.

This is part of a series called Bicolana Obscura. Feel free to suggest lesser known destinations or places that almost never make it to people’s itineraries either because they just don’t seem “Instagrammable” by certain standards, or they’re too far away, or they are just neglected. Send your suggestions to contact@visitbicol.com. Visit Bicol would happily attribute the suggestion to you.

See other places in Bicolana Obscura here:

Click the tags to see links.

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