Cursillo defines itself as “A movement of the Church which, by means of its own method, makes it possible for people to live what is fundamental for being a 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.”(F.I. #111)

The Movement was started in response to the founder’s profound perception that society had ceased to be Christian. That reality, as the founders saw it, was as simple as this: They saw a world with its back turned on God, Christ, and the Church. They had a deep-seated conviction that life had ceased to be Christian. They felt that the influence that Christianity had, on real life, was just about nonexistent – even in so-called Catholic circles. Thus the founders saw that the whole world needed to be transformed. The goal was clear: to re-Christianize society which had ceased to be Christian. (F.I. # 17-18)

Pope Paul VI said in his Apostolic Exhortation on Evangelization in the Modern World that the Church’s essential mission is to evangelize (EN 14), which means bringing the Good News into all levels of humanity and society so as to transform them according to the Gospel (EN 18). The Cursillo Movement offers people the opportunity for a closer encounter with Christ and emphasizes the role of the lay person in being an evangelizer in the family, neighborhood, place of work and with friends and acquaintances. Thus, the apostolic action of each cursillista is a concrete contribution to the work of evangelization.

Yes. It operates in obedience to the Archbishop of the local diocese. In the Archdiocese of Ottawa the Archbishop attends many of the Cursillo celebrations and Masses. And our new Auxiliary Bishop Christian Riesbeck is both a Challenger and a Cursillista.

It is not that the Cursillo should be for Catholics only but that the Cursillo be denominational because the program should be true to each denomination’s particular teachings, liturgy, etc. The Cursillo is not an ecumenical program. It is a program of renewal within the Church for its own members.

The Post Cursillo, because as Bonnin, the founder, noted, it is easy to convert persons to Christ, but it is much harder to get them to follow Him. The Cursillo Movement is basically a program of perseverance. The forms of the Post Cursillo, group reunion and Ultreya are meant to help persons persevere in living the Christian life in an ongoing way. But it is a choice; all the Cursillo Movement can do is offer them.