Cursillo / Cursillistas

What is Cursillo?

The Cursillo is an Apostolic Movement of the Roman Catholic Church. It is an encounter with Christ. It employs a method that emphasizes the importance of a balanced life of piety, continued spiritual study, and action to help us keep Christ in the center of our lives. 

The Cursillo Movement is introduced over a 3-day weekend retreat which includes daily prayer, daily Mass and opportunities for confession. Here a team of religious and laymen present a series of talks. These talks are then discussed in small groups which allows for sharing insights about the presentations. At the end of the weekend candidates feel closer to Christ and have a better understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit. They leave the weekend knowing they’ve been called to spread the Word of God.

After the 3-day weekend the community spirit is continued through small group reunions and Ultreyas. A group reunion is a weekly gathering of 3-6 friends (men's groups and women's groups) who share their enthusiastic faith in Jesus Christ. The Ultreya is the gathering of all the groups in one area, usually every month.

Here at St Mark there are several men and women's groups that meet on different days and times. We have a North Charlotte Cursillo Group that invites all groups from several parishes to meet once a month at St Mark for our Ultreyas. Most of the Ultreyas are for the entire family and we normally meet on a Sunday after the 11 am Mass. We also have a couple of adult-only Ultreyas which meet on a Saturday evening for wine and hors d' oeuvres.