{"id":23787,"date":"2021-03-17T04:23:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T08:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/filipinos-give-environmental-twist-to-500th-anniversary\/"},"modified":"2021-03-17T04:23:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T08:23:00","slug":"filipinos-give-environmental-twist-to-500th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/filipinos-give-environmental-twist-to-500th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Filipinos give environmental twist to 500th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"
Catholics planted 500 trees on the island of Homonhon in Samar province to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed on the shores of Homonhon on March 17, 1521, to gather food while on a Spanish expedition that saw one of his vessels become the first to circumnavigate the world.<\/p>\n
The Spanish together with several friars were met by a local chieftain called Rajah Culambu, who later guided them to Cebu on April 7.<\/p>\n
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