What is Cursillo?

Three-Day Cursillo

Cursillo (pronounced KER SEE O) starts with a three-day retreat of learning, sharing, and experiencing life in a Christian Community. The word “Cursillo” is Spanish, meaning “a short course.” Cursillo is a shortened form of the full title: Cursillo de Christiandad, which means “A Short Course in Christian Community Living.” During the three-day retreat, a person not only hears what it really means to be a Christian but actually gets to experience the joy of building and being a part of a genuine Christian Community.

History & Purpose

The Cursillo Movement started when a group of priests and laymen in Majorca, Spain examined the condition of the Church and felt that something had to be done to assist it. From 1943 to 1947 they formulated a “method” to help renew the Church. They called it a “short course” or “short experience” in the basic teachings of Jesus, as lived with other Christians. They also developed an ongoing program for after the three-days, so that the initial enthusiasm would continue.

Cursillo was deemed as an official Movement of the Roman Catholic Church in the early 1960s and was introduced into the Bay Area in 1961. It is approved by our local Bishops. Our Cursillo Movement in San Jose is part of a rich and international fabric of Cursillo movements world wide, nationally, and also locally in several languages.

Want to read more? Check out The History of the Cursillo Movement.

The Encounter with Ourselves

The Encounter with Christ

The Encounter with Others

The Cursillo Movement is not something such as an organization, per se, but rather is a group of people who have participated in a Cursillo weekend. This group is not organized to work together or to act together in any way; rather, individuals, living a life in the grace and love of God, perform their own actions of loving God and neighbor, which can be considered the root and origin of all Christian being and doing. In a new way, they establish their relationships with God, with themselves, with other people, and with the world; and they make every effort to leaven their environments with the Gospel, so as to enable other people also to respond to the call of God. Persons who adopt and follow the mentality and fundamental principles of the Cursillo method may choose to unite themselves together to help one another live in a more authentic way of the Christian life.