Cursillo

The Cursillo movement is a Catholic-based training program that started in Majorca, Spain, in the 1940s. A group of men put together a week-long training event for Catholics preparing to make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James at Compostela. Later, the training was shortened to three days and adapted to target change in community life rather than prepare for pilgrimage. The full title of the event was Cursillos de Christian dad, which means “little courses in Christianity” or “short course of Christianity.” The Cursillo movement spread from Spain to Mexico and South America, then to French-speaking Canada, and then around the world. Today, Cursillo weekends are held in more than 60 countries.

Over the course of three days (Thursday evening to Sunday), participants (called “cursillistas”) listen to fifteen different spiritual talks about the Christian life. Leaders of Cursillo emphasize the non-academic nature of the course: the talks relate real-life experiences, which become the basis for small-group discussions. Along with the testimonies are times of music, prayer, Christian service, and contemplation.

After a Cursillo event, participants are encouraged to take what they learned that weekend and apply it to their daily lives. Life after the Cursillo weekend is referred to as the “fourth day.” Participants are then invited to group reunions and larger gatherings called Ultreya (“to go further”).

From the beginning, Cursillo has sought to be ecumenical, and the program has been adapted for use in several other churches. Some offshoots of the Cursillo movement include Tres Dias, Walk to Emmaus (Cursillo for Methodists), Journey to Damascus, Great Banquet, Diaspora, Jubilee Journey, Discipleship Walk, Faith Walk, Journey Through Faith, DeColores Ministries, Awakening, Chrysalis (for teens), and Kairos (a prison ministry). All these variations of Cursillo fall under the umbrella of the “three-day movement.” The movement is promoted by the World Body of Cursillos in Christianity.

Cursillo is open to all Christians.  It invites Christians to build a world, founded on the rock of love and friendship.