About Cursillo Movement
The Cursillo Movement (officially the Movimiento de Cursillos de Cristiandad, MCC) is a worldwide Catholic lay movement of the Church whose purpose is to help Christians live what is fundamental to being Christian and to leaven their everyday environments — family, workplace, parish, and neighborhood — with the Gospel. Its hallmark is a structured three-day weekend of spiritual renewal (the "Cursillo de Cristiandad" or "little course in Christianity") complemented by a lifelong method of formation, friendship, and apostolic action in small reunion groups and larger Ultreya gatherings. Founded in Spain in 1949 and now present on every continent, the Movement is recognized as an ecclesial movement by the Holy See and is coordinated globally by the Organismo Mundial de Cursillos de Cristiandad (OMCC).
Mission
To enable a personal encounter with Christ — beginning with an encounter with oneself and completed by an encounter with others — and to foster a process of conscious, growing, and shared conversion in community so that Christians can take responsibility for leavening their environments with the Gospel. The Movement's stated purpose is to make Christian community possible in neighborhoods, parishes, work situations, and other places where people live the greater part of their lives.
- Founded
- 1949
- Founder
- Eduardo Bonnín Aguiló (layman), Sebastián Gayá Aguilera (priest), and Bishop Juan Hervás Benet — the three principal initiators of the Movement in Mallorca, Spain.
- Leader
- Álvaro Martínez Moreno (President of the OMCC, elected June 2023 at the IX World Encounter in Monterrey, Mexico, for the 2023–2027 term); Bishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses, Archbishop of Seville (Spiritual Advisor of the OMCC).
- Reach
- Present in more than 50 countries (some OMCC sources cite 54–63 countries) on every continent: Africa (5+), Asia (17), Europe (18), North America–Caribbean (3), South America (20). The OMCC is the coordinating body recognized by the Holy See; it is composed of a President, Spiritual Advisor, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and one representative from each International Group. Cursillistas are organized into Diocesan Secretariats, National Secretariats, and four International Groups (Latin America — GLCC, Europe — GECC, Asia-Pacific — GAPCC, North America–Caribbean — NACG). An estimated 60,000+ Cursillo weekends have been celebrated worldwide with more than 1,000,000 cursillistas. Selected country figures: Brazil ~3.4 million; United States ~912,580 (17,193 weekends since 1957); Philippines over 1,000,000 (reached by 1995); Mexico over 500,000; Spain 300,000; Italy 200,000; Argentina 175,000; Canada 139,020; Venezuela 125,000. By 1977 the Movement was already operative on five continents in nearly 50 countries with 857 dioceses and about 2.5 million cursillistas.
- Serves
- Catholic lay faithful — and through them their families, parishes, workplaces, and broader social environments — who are seeking a deeper personal encounter with Christ and an apostolic Christian life in the world. Men and women participate in separate weekends, generally in groups of around 40 candidates.
Overview of the Cursillo Movement
The Cursillo Movement (Movimiento de Cursillos de Cristiandad, MCC) is a lay-led Catholic movement whose aim is to enable Christians to encounter Christ and to leaven their everyday environments with the Gospel. According to the OMCC, it is 'a movement of the Church which by means of its own method makes it possible for people to live what is fundamental for being Christian, and to live it together; it helps people discover and fulfill their personal vocations, and it promotes the creation of core groups of Christians who leaven their environments with the Gospel.' The Movement is present in more than 50 countries on every continent and is recognized by the Holy See through the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.
- Worldwide Catholic lay movement with a structured evangelizing method
- Founded 1949 in Mallorca, Spain; canonically recognized 2004
- Coordinated globally by the Organismo Mundial de Cursillos de Cristiandad (OMCC)
Founding and Early Years (1940–1949)
The Movement arose in post-war Mallorca out of the Catholic Action Youth (JAC) apostolate. As the JAC prepared for a major national pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the 1948 Holy Year, organizers noticed that short 'cursillos' for pilgrimage leaders gave participants a powerful, lived experience of Christianity. From 1944 onward the group reflected on and refined this format until, in January 1949, the first true Cursillo de Cristiandad was held at the Monastery of San Honorato de Randa, distinct in purpose, approach, and meaning from the earlier cursillos.
- Origin in the Diocesan Council of the Catholic Action Youth (JAC) of Mallorca
- Earlier formats: 'Cursillos de Adelantados de Peregrinos' and 'Cursillos de Jefes de Peregrinos'
- First Cursillo de Cristiandad: 7–10 January 1949, Monastery of San Honorato, Randa, Mallorca
- 20 Cursillos celebrated in 1949; 100th by 1954
The Three Initiators
The OMCC identifies three principal initiators of the Movement: Eduardo Bonnín Aguiló, a layman and the leading strategist of the method; Sebastián Gayá Aguilera, a priest; and Bishop Juan Hervás Benet, then Bishop of Mallorca (later of Ciudad Real), whose pastoral letter 'Cursillos de Cristiandad, Instrument of Christian Renewal' (1957) was decisive for the Movement's diffusion.
- Eduardo Bonnín Aguiló — layman, principal formator of the method
- Sebastián Gayá Aguilera — priest
- Bishop Juan Hervás Benet — Bishop of Mallorca, later of Ciudad Real
Worldwide Expansion
From Spain the Cursillo Movement first crossed to Latin America (Colombia, 1953, where the first Cursillo for women outside Spain was celebrated), reaching virtually all countries of the Americas by 1963. In Europe it entered Portugal, Austria, and Italy in 1960, Germany in 1961, and Eastern Europe from Austria in 1974. The Philippines received it in 1962 from the United States; Australia in 1963–1965. From the Philippines the Movement spread to other Asian countries (Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand). Presence in Africa has been more limited, with workshops in Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, Nigeria, Rhodesia, Guinea, Benin, and Togo.
- 1953 — spread to mainland Spain (Valencia) and to Colombia
- 1960 — Portugal, Austria, Italy
- 1962 — Philippines; 1963 — Australia
- 1963 — present in nearly every country of the Americas
- 1974 — introduction to Eastern Europe from Austria
Canonical Recognition and the OMCC
The institutional life of the Movement is structured from the parish and diocese outward: Diocesan Secretariats are the basic organizational unit; National Secretariats coordinate a country; International Groups (GLCC for Latin America, GECC for Europe, GAPCC for Asia–Pacific, NACG for North America–Caribbean) coordinate continentally; and the Organismo Mundial de Cursillos de Cristiandad (OMCC) coordinates globally. On 31 May 2004 the Pontifical Council for the Laity granted the OMCC canonical recognition as 'a structure of coordination, promotion and diffusion of the experience of the Cursillos of Christianity, having private juridical personality,' approving its statutes. A revised OMCC Statute was approved in December 2022, and the current executive was constituted at the IX World Encounter in Monterrey, Mexico, in June 2023.
- Diocesan Secretariat — basic unit, in liaison with the local bishop
- National Secretariat — e.g., Cursillo USA, MCFC and CCCC (Canada), Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines
- International Groups: GLCC, GECC, GAPCC, NACG
- OMCC Statute revised December 2022; IX World Encounter, Monterrey, June 2023
The Three-Phase Method
The Cursillo method has three inseparable phases: Pre-Cursillo, the Cursillo itself (the 3-Day Weekend), and Post-Cursillo. The OMCC teaches that 'the Cursillo, although it is the most well-known and identifying phase, cannot be conceived on its own and that it is necessarily linked to the Pre-Cursillo and Post-Cursillo.' The method is kerygmatic — centered on the joyful proclamation of Christian fundamentals by witnesses — and combines the personal and the communal, the doctrinal and the experiential.
- Pre-Cursillo: sponsorship, friendship, and preparation of candidates
- Cursillo: the 72-hour lived weekend experience
- Post-Cursillo: lifelong perseverance through Group Reunion and Ultreya
The Three-Day Cursillo Weekend
The Cursillo Weekend gathers roughly 40 men or women from different backgrounds for three days of community living, prayer, and teaching. It is centered on the celebration of the Mass and the sacraments and is structured around 15 talks: 5 meditations and 5 doctrinal lessons given by priests, and 10 'rollos' or practical lessons given by lay members of the team, each followed by small-group discussion. The atmosphere includes singing, skits, and conviviencia (fellowship). The weekend is described by the Movement as 'a wonderful instrument of Christian renewal, which takes each individual as he/she is and enables him/her to become the best he/she can be.'
- 5 priestly meditations and 5 doctrinal lessons
- 10 lay rollos (practical applications)
- Daily Mass and the sacraments at the center
- Small-group discussions, singing, and fellowship
- Separate weekends for men and women
The Post-Cursillo: Group Reunion and Ultreya
The Post-Cursillo is the lifelong phase in which the experience of the weekend is lived out and shared. Its two basic structures are the Group Reunion (a permanent small friendship group of 3–6 cursillistas meeting weekly) and the Ultreya (a larger gathering, usually monthly, of several groups). As Eduardo Bonnín said, 'We have the 3-Day Cursillo so that there will be Group Reunions.' A typical Ultreya includes a floating group reunion, a lay witness or 'action' talk, responses, and a brief Gospel reflection by a Spiritual Advisor.
- Permanent Group Reunion — small friendship group meeting weekly
- Ultreya — monthly gathering of several groups
- Floating Group Reunion — randomized small-group sharing at the Ultreya
- Lay Action Talk (rollista) and lay responses
- Brief Gospel reflection by a priest or deacon (Spiritual Advisor)
Purpose and Spirituality
The OMCC states four general objectives of the method: to enable a personal encounter with Christ (beginning with an encounter with oneself and completed by an encounter with others); to foster a process of conscious, growing, and shared conversion in community; to awaken a sense of community through the experience of friendship; and to encourage Christian responsibility in one's own environment. In the words of the OMCC, the purpose is 'the leavening of environments with the Gospel' — changing the places where people spend their lives by the witness of Christian thought, word, and action.
- Personal encounter with Christ
- Ongoing conversion in community
- Christian friendship as the seedbed of community
- Christian responsibility in everyday environments
The School of Leaders
The School of Leaders (Escuela de Dirigentes) is the Movement's permanent formation body, established in its earliest years. It accompanies the life of the Movement at every level, forming those who will serve as team members, Secretariat members, and spiritual directors. Together with the Secretariats, the School of Leaders is one of the two basic structures of the Movement in each diocese.
- Permanent formation body of the Movement
- Forms team members, Secretariat members, and spiritual directors
- Operates at diocesan, national, and international levels
Patron and Ecclesiastical Recognition
In 1963 Pope Paul VI named St. Paul the patron of the Cursillo Movement. In May 1966 he received the first World Ultreya in Rome, praising Cursillo for making possible the conscious recovery of the riches of the Christian life and for enriching cursillistas with a sense of the Church (sensus ecclesiae). On 31 May 2004 the Pontifical Council for the Laity issued the Decree of Canonical Recognition of the OMCC, confirming the Movement as an ecclesial body 'fully integrated, participatory and active in the Universal Church.' In 2023 the OMCC participated in the annual meeting of moderators of international associations of the faithful, ecclesial movements, and new communities at the Vatican.
- St. Paul named patron by Pope Paul VI in 1963
- First World Ultreya in Rome, May 1966
- Canonical recognition of OMCC by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, 31 May 2004
- OMCC participates in Vatican meetings of ecclesial movements and new communities
Current Leadership (2023–2027)
At the IX World Encounter held in Monterrey, Mexico, from 1 to 4 June 2023, the candidacy presented by the Spanish National Secretariat was elected to lead the OMCC for the period 2023–2027. Álvaro Martínez Moreno (Diocese of Córdoba, Spain), a lay veterinarian and university professor who made his Cursillo in 1982 and previously served as president of the Spanish National Secretariat and of the European Group (GECC), became President. Bishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses, Archbishop of Seville, serves as Spiritual Advisor. The Executive Committee also includes representatives from Brazil, Ukraine, and Chile.
- President: Álvaro Martínez Moreno (Córdoba, Spain)
- Spiritual Advisor: Bishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses, Archbishop of Seville
- Executive Committee also includes representatives from Brazil, Ukraine, and Chile
- Term: 2023–2027
Frequently Asked Questions
A practical summary of the most common questions about the Movement, drawn from the OMCC, national Cursillo websites, and Cursillo literature.
- What is a Cursillo? — A three-day weekend of Christian renewal plus a lifelong method of friendship and apostolic action.
- How do I attend a Cursillo? — You must be sponsored by a current cursillista; one cannot apply on one's own.
- Are men and women together? — No, weekends are held separately for men and for women.
- What is an Ultreya? — A monthly gathering of cursillistas for sharing, witness, and apostolic encouragement.
- Is it Catholic only? — The Cursillo Movement is a Catholic movement; related programs exist in other Christian traditions under other names.
- Who is the patron saint? — St. Paul, named by Pope Paul VI in 1963.