OMCC

Complete OMCC team

First Meeting in Rome - September 2023

A big step for the OMCC

In two days of work, prayer and friendship, in Seville (Spain), the “transfer” of the World Christianity Cursillo Organization continued, to complete the process begun last July.

A big step for the OMCC

75th anniversary of the first Cursillo

“The Cursillo Movement began in the 1940s on the island of Mallorca (Spain), taking shape in the spiritual preparation for a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James the Apostle organized by the youth of Catholic Action during the Holy Year of Compostela in 1948. The First Cursillo de Cristiandad was held in January 1949 in the Monastery of San Honorato de Randa (Mallorca)“

PRESENTATION OF THE MCC TO THE BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE OF THE PHILIPPINES

Presentation of the MCC in Philippines.

¡A great event for the Cursillo Movement! A new path is opening before the Cursillo Movement of the Philippines

Thanks to the Cursillos in Christianity I learned to see life with different eyes

My name is Maria Bernardina Pascual de Taveras, but everyone...

New OMCC Newsletter (May 2024)

The OMCC Newsletter for the May 2024 edition is now...

In my Cursillo feel like God was speaking to my life in a very special way.

My name is Bruno Ojangole from St. Austin Catholic Parish...

Contemplating and praying Easter to reach inner knowledge

The Easter Triduum gives us a new opportunity to be...

A Movement that embraces, accompanies, and loves.

At the origin of the MCC, there is a special gift of the Spirit, an inspiration to bring the love of God to every person. The Movement wants to move forward by being faithful to this charism, in communion with the Church, following its pastoral indications, and attending to the world’s reality that it has to evangelize.

“The task of the cursillistas is to help today’s people to discover the beauty of the faith and the life of grace that is possible to live in the Church”.

Pope Francis in the III European Ultreya, Rome 2015

International Groups

Cursillo Movement facts and figures

See below some curiosities of the MCC.

Why is it called "Movement of Cursillos in Christianity”?

Because it is a “movement” of the Church, whose method of evangelization includes the celebration of the so-called “Cursillos of Christianity”.

The word “movement” was used to emphasize that it is not an “association of the faithful”, but an ecclesial reality in which participation is “free and open to all persons who have made the Cursillo; the only thing that unites these persons in the Cursillo Movement is their personal desire to remain taking an active part in it” (IF3Ed. no. 292).

On the other hand, the name “Cursillos in Christianity” was concretized in the year 1953, when more than 30 Cursillos had already been celebrated in Mallorca. Until then, there was no definite designation, having used the name of “Cursillos of Conquest”. But that year, in the framework of a diocesan assembly, bishop D. Juan Hervás used the term “Cursillos in Christianity” for the first time, which was warmly welcomed and remained a denominator of the Movement.

In how many countries is the MCC present today?

It is present in more than 50 countries and on all continents. In America, there is a broader diffusion, since it is present in practically all the continent’s countries, from Canada to Chile, including the presence in the Caribbean. In Europe, where it originated, it is currently present in 13 countries. In Asia and Oceania, the distribution is more limited, as is the presence of the Catholic Church in general: the Movement is present in 7 countries in the region. On the other hand, the Cursillo Movement is also present in Africa, in a more dispersed way, in 8 other countries. Information on all the National Secretariats currently operating can be found at the following link:

How many Cursillos have been celebrated in the world?

We still need an updated record of the number of Cursillos held in each country, but we are working on it. An estimate can be made based on the number of years in which Cursillos have been held (75 years) and the average number of Cursillos held in each country (a very variable figure, ranging between 5 and 300 per year). Using the available data and making a very restrictive estimation, an average of 30 annual Cursillos have been held in about 40 countries over 50 years. This would give a figure of 60,000 cursillos and more than 1,000,000 cursillistas… It is undoubtedly only an estimation that must be refined as more contrasted data becomes available. This information will be updated.

How is the MCC Organized?

The Cursillo Movement is characterized, as indicated in the Preamble of the OMCC Statutes (point 7), “by having few structures.” The Cursillo Movement has a diocesan base: in each diocese, the Movement exists based on the cursillistas, who are grouped in small groups (group reunions) and Ultreyas. Supporting and serving this cursillista community, the groups, and the Ultreyas is the so-called “School of Leaders,” the group of people who assume the task of sustaining and promoting the life of the Movement in the diocese, energizing and developing its purpose. From the School, the Diocesan Secretariat is constituted, which is the service structure responsible for coordinating and orienting the activity of the Cursillo Movement at the diocesan level. This Diocesan Secretariat has the delegated authority and assumes the necessary responsibility to serve the life of the Movement in the diocese under the guidance of the corresponding diocesan Bishop.

The Diocesan Secretariats of each country are united, coordinated, and constituted into National Secretariats. These, which are authorized and recognized by the corresponding Episcopal Conferences, are the channel of communion, participation, and orientation of the Cursillo Movement in a particular country, being also responsible for maintaining the identity of the Movement, according to its charism, mentality, purpose and method, promoting its development and guiding its integration into the pastoral ministry of the Church of the country (IF3Ed. n. 340).

In turn, the National Secretariats constitute the International Groups, which are also a channel of participation, coordination, and promotion of the Cursillo Movement in a specific geographical area. And finally, as a worldwide coordinating body, there is the OMCC (World Organization of Cursillos of Christianity), which has been recognized by the Holy See (by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life) and develops its function according to its own Statute.

Which Popes have had a relationship with the MCC?

Practically all those who have exercised their ministry since the beginning of the Movement, in one way or another. The beginnings of the CCM coincided with the pontificate of Pope St. John XXIII, who certainly knew the developing reality of the Movement (at least, from what was said about him during the development of the Second Vatican Council), but there is no record that he explicitly addressed the Movement. His successor, St. Paul VI, did maintain a clearer relationship with the CCM, participating in the first World Ultreya in Rome in 1965 and addressing various messages to the CCM, among them the Pontifical Brief by which he constituted St. Paul patron of the Movement. St. John Paul II has been, so far, the Pope who has maintained more connection with the CCM: throughout his long pontificate he participated in several National Ultreyas in Italy, as well as in the III World Ultreya in Rome in the year 2000. He also received on several occasions delegations from the Cursillo Movement and addressed messages to various other national and international Ultreyas. Pope Benedict XVI did not participate in any encounter with the Movement, but he did send an esteemed address to the IV World Ultreya held in Los Angeles (USA) in 2009. Finally, the current Pope Francis has already participated in a European Ultreya in Rome in 2015 and in an Italian National Ultreya in 2022, in both cases providing lucid and valuable indications for the path of the Cursillo Movement.