Cursillo
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History
The Cursillo movement within the Episcopal Church is a relatively new concept, having come originally from the Roman Catholic Church. In the late 1940s, following WWII, on the island of Majorca, Spain, a group of Christians wanted to change the character of their workplaces during the socially and religiously oppressive time of General Francisco Franco's regime.
These men began meeting weekly to pray and encourage one another and plan for the future. Their priest, seeing that his parishioners and friends were falling away from the church, encouraged them in their efforts and eventually planned a retreat for them - the forerunner of today's Cursillo. The use of bright flowers, colors and Spanish names continue today as they hearken back to Cursillo's Spanish origins.
In the early 1960s a group of Roman Catholic Air Force pilots from Spain were sent to Waco in the Diocese of Texas and Mission in the Diocese of West Texas. Some of these airmen had attended what was known as Cursillo and approached their bishop in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi to begin conducting Cursillo here in Texas.
As the movement began to spread throughout the Catholic Church, it also migrated to other denominations and was picked up by the Diocese of West Texas. The first Cursillo held in the Diocese was in January of 1972 and was held at Camp Capers. Cursillo No. 2 followed in about six weeks and was attended by our own Bishop Earl McArthur, prior to his entering the seminary. It has been said that over 80% of the Diocese church leadership have attended a Cursillo weekend, attesting to the impact the weekend can have on the lives of those attending.
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