page_title: Imnajbu
section_title: Imnajbu - The Birthplace of Christianity in Batanes
hierarchical_section_title: Imnajbu / History / Imnajbu - The Birthplace of Christianity in Batanes
caption_attribution_description: English: A picture of San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel in Imnajbu, Batanes
context_page_description: Imnajbu is one of the four barangays that comprise the municipality of Uyugan in the province of Batanes, Philippines. It is also one of the smallest barangays in all of Batanes and in the Philippines with a population of around a couple of hundred people. Located in the southeast corner of Batan Island, it is bounded by Itbud to the southeast, Uyugan to the southwest, Ivana and Mount Matarem to the west, Mahatao to the north, and the Philippine Sea/Pacific Ocean to the east.
context_section_description: According to church records, the first mass and baptism in the islands was celebrated in what is now Imnajbu.
  Fr. Mateo Gonzales, OP, Apostle of Batanes, first landed in Imnajbu in 1682 A.D. when he came to survey the prospects of evangelization in the Batanes Archipelago. It was in the village of Imnajbu where the first holy mass on Ivatan soil was celebrated and the first baptism administered, making Imnajbu the birthplace of Christianity in Batanes. Today, Imnajbu is a barangay of the municipality of Uyugan, its patron saint is the first canonized Filipino saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila.
caption: San Lorenzo Ruiz chapel, Imnajbu
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