This year, the Cursillo Movement is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its first retreat held in the Diocese of Youngstown. Cursillo de Cristianidad—meaning “little course in Christianity”—originated in Spain in 1949 as a coordinated effort to bring disaffiliated young men back to the Church. The movement’s powerful impact saw it quickly rise in popularity and spread around the world, though its focus began to expand to include not only young men who had fallen away from the Church, but also anyone seeking to enliven their faith. By 1957, the Cursillo Movement had made its way to the United States, and when Bishop Emmett Walsh gave his approval for the program here, it had already been adopted by nearly 50 dioceses.
The core tenet of the Cursillo Movement is to reinvigorate Catholics, give them a renewed and deeper understanding of Christ’s teachings and empower them to be apostolic disciples in their communities, providing a “Christian leaven in civic, social and economic life.” In other words, Cursillo is all about getting its participants—affectionately known as “Cursillistas”—to bring their beliefs to every aspect of their lives.
But just what is the Cursillo Movement? How does it work?
The Cursillo movement has two periods. The first is an initial three-day weekend, which features numerous lectures from clergy and laypeople, group sharing and daily Mass, adoration and reconciliation. But Cursillo goes far beyond the initial retreat—the whole weekend is geared toward preparing Cursillistas for the second period of the ministry following the weekend: the “fourth day,” which is actually much longer than a day. In fact, the fourth day is the rest of your life!
After their weekend retreat, Cursillistas form small groups with other members of their retreat weekend and meet regularly—at least once or twice a month, although some meet weekly—to discuss how each retreatant has grown in piety, their ongoing evangelization efforts and moments when they were aware of Christ’s presence in their lives. This not only keeps Cursillistas accountable to their commitments, but also provides them with a close-knit community in which their faith can continue to develop and flourish.
In addition to these small group reunions, Cursillistas are also encouraged to participate in “Ultreyas” (Spanish for “onward”), which are large gatherings attended by multiple small groups, held on the second Thursday of each month.
According to Bill Joyce, lay director of the Cursillo Movement of the Youngstown Diocese, this emphasis on the continual commitment of Cursillistas is what truly distinguishes the Cursillo Movement from other ministries. He would know—his own small group has been meeting for over 26 years.
“It’s not just a retreat. It’s so much more,” Joyce said. “Because of the follow-up of Ultreya and the small groups, they stay involved … They have a purpose. You come away knowing how to serve Christ.”
Joyce said that the enduring popularity of the Cursillo Movement is due to the preservation of the ministry’s teachings and traditions, and that the movement’s mission is more important now than ever before.
“People have a hunger to learn more about their faith and how to be closer to Christ. People would like to know how they can better serve Christ,” Joyce said. “We’re still serving that mission to this day … It’s been handed off from generation to generation.”
On May 11, Cursillistas gathered in St. Columba Cathedral to celebrate the 60th anniversary with a Mass celebrated by Bishop David Bonnar and a dinner with a fundraising raffle. The Mass was interrupted when a tornado warning sent those in attendance down to the basement, but several Cursillistas said they could feel only joy at the opportunity to spend more time together.
“We were happy. It was a joyous group,” Joyce laughed. “We had an opportunity down in the basement. Because we’re mostly Cursillistas, it was like a party down there. There was a lot of hugging and people we hadn’t seen in years were there.”
Once the tornado warning had cleared, the celebration resumed—starting with Mass.
“Today, we give thanks to God in this Holy Mass for the Cursillo Movement in Youngstown,” Bishop Bonnar said in his homily. “We celebrate 60 years of this apostolic movement that has brought so much new life to this portion of the Lord’s vineyard. To all our Cursillo brothers and sisters, thank you for making a difference.”
To learn more about applying to take part in a Cursillo weekend, send an email to the organizers.
