Harrisburg Cursillo at 17 Green Meadow, Carlisle, PA 17103 US - The Cursillo Movement
The Cursillo Movement is a movement of the Catholic Church. The proper name is Cursillo de Cristiandad (short course of Christianity). The name Cursillo is Spanish, meaning short course, and is often associated with a 3-Day weekend. However, there is much more to the Cursillo Movement than just a 3-Day weekend.
The Cursillo Movement began in Mallorca, Spain during the 1940s when a group of men dedicated themselves to bringing the young men of their city to know Christ better. They prayed, worked, talked together, and shared their thoughts about the state of the world and the effectiveness of their efforts to bring the light of Christ to it. God taught this group of men how to work for Him in an effective way, a way that still bears fruit.
The Cursillo Movement in the United States was organized on a national basis in 1965. At this meeting a National Secretariat was organized, and a National Cursillo Office (currently in Dallas, Texas) was established.
The Cursillo Movement has the support of the vast majority of the American hierarchy. It is joined to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops through an official liaison in the person of Most Rev. James S. Sullivan, Bishop of Fargo, and through the Bishops' Secretariat for the Laity in Washington, D.C.
Today, it is a worldwide movement with centers in nearly all South and Central American countries, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia, Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and in several African countries. The movement is a member of the International Catholic Organizations of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in Rome. In 1980, the Cursillo Movement established an international office, the OMCC (Organismo Mundial de Cursillo's de Cristiandad), in Santo Domingo to coordinate the three existing international working groups of Latin America, Europe and the International English Language Group. The international leaders of the movement meet periodically to further its work.