The Cursillo Movement, begun in Spain in the 1940’s, is perhaps the most widely participated in of today’s “ecclesial movements.” A precursor to the Charismatic Renewal, Cursillo begins with an intense three-day spiritual retreat, the purpose of which is a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Upon completing the retreat, the “fourth day” begins—living the rest of one’s life by the power of the Gospel.

Catholics who experience the Cursillo Movement know it is more than just three days of religious instruction. It is an effort to change the spiritual environment, to bring Jesus Christ into the world.

Cursillo literally means “little course,” but the instruction is designed to empower students to become Christian leaders in their own environments. The movement’s full name is Cursillo de Christiandad. Seminars cover three-day weekends, and the first Cursillos were short courses given to members of Catholic Action groups to enable them to become effective apostles.

Each day of the Thursday-through-Sunday weekend begins and ends with prayer. Mass is celebrated daily, except Thursday. The first night offers a retreat phase, done in silence, with meditation. Participants strive to gain a better understanding of themselves on Friday, and, on Saturday, combine that understanding with the knowledge of a loving God. Sunday is spent focusing on members’ relationships with God and learning how to help fulfill His will.

That work begins on the Fourth Day of the Cursillo, which is the rest of one’s life. The three-day weekend of daily mass celebration, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, talks, meditations, singing, and Christian fellowship is designed to enable attendees to focus on Him in all areas of life.

Cursillo began in Spain in the 1940s and first came to the U.S. in 1957. San Antonio hosted the first English-speaking weekends in 1961. More “first” weekends were held around the West and Midwest that year. Cursillo came to the east coast a year later, and by 1981, nearly all of 160 dioceses in the U.S. introduced the Cursillo.

The Cursillo movement was nationalized in the U.S. in 1965, with the organization of a National Secretariat and establishment of a National Cursillo Office, now in Dallas, Texas.

Throughout the world, Cursillo continues to challenge members to remain God-centered in all areas of life. To do that, leaders meet in regular, usually weekly, group reunions of three to six friends. They share experiences and activities, focusing on holiness, formation and evangelization.

A collection of all group reunions in an area is known as an Ultreya. Members share songs and prayers, with one person volunteering to witness about the presence of the Lord in his or her life.

Pope John Paul II spoke at the first national Italian Ultreya in Rome in 1980.  “You have discovered anew the explosive truth of the evangelical message,” Pope John Paul II said in his address. “God, Father of all, comes to us as we encounter Him in Jesus Christ to reunite us through the grace of the Spirit in one family which is the Church.”

The ultimate end of Cursillo is a living union with God.

Copyright © 2000 by Michael Clark