Cursillo
Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia
Cursillo Weekend 177 has been postponed to May 13-16, 2027.
Please note that our website is undergoing updates in 2026. We thank you for your patience.
Who We Are
The Cursillo Community in the Episcopal Church is a group of dedicated believers who work to live our Baptismal Covenant in the world around us using the time-tested Cursillo Method.
The purpose of Cursillo is to nourish Christian individuals with the knowledge of God's love and grace, and to help them discover their personal mission in the world so they may enjoy the fullness of Christian life.
Where We Started
The Original Cursillo Movement
The earliest beginnings of Cursillo took place in Mallorca Spain prior to WWII in the Roman Catholic Church. Under the leadership of their Bishop, a group of laymen were seeking a means of involving more men in the activities of the church and evangelization of their community. Using basic principles, they formed small groups to educate "friends" in the community in the basic tenets of the faith, and encourage them to develop a relationship with the Lord.
Civil unrest and WWII interrupted their plans for a few years, but soon after the war they began to seek more ways of building the small groups to support each other. A Three Day Pilgrimage Weekend was created in 1948 to fill this need. The pilgrimage that finally happened was so successful and inspirational that many more were planned. The Cursillos de Cristiandad (“short courses in Christianity”) movement was a reality.
How We Got Here...
to the United States and finally to the Diocese of Southern Virginia
1957
1970
1978
1994
The first Cursillo Weekend in the United States was held in Waco, Texas, when Spanish Air Cadets training in Texas held a Roman Catholic Cursillo for Spanish-speaking men in 1957. Many more Weekends were held after that, but all in Spanish. By 1968, the materials for the Weekend had been translated into English and a different audience could be reached.
The first official Cursillo Weekend in the Episcopal Church was held with the help of Roman Catholic sponsors in the Diocese of Iowa in 1970. Since then Cursillo has spread throughout the nation, in every State and, under several other names, to many other denominations.
To bring it closer home, with the help of sponsors from North Carolina, the first Cursillo Weekend held in the Diocese of Southern Virginia was in 1978. Since then we have held 2-4 Weekends each year continuing along the path begun in Spain…the path that enables laity and clergy to work together being the Hands and Feet of Christ.
Blessed by the movement and wanting to share it with others, Cursillistas from this diocese ventured to the Virgin Islands in 1994, to serve on the team for that diocese’s first Cursillo weekend.
History of Weekends
Weekend | Season | Year | Lay Rector |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Spring | 1978 | John Keifer |
2 | Spring | 1978 | Martha Jenkins |
3 | Fall | 1978 | Cameron Cooke |
4 | Fall | 1978 | Martha Jenkins |
5 | Spring | 1978 | Jim Nelson |
6 | Spring | 1979 | Helen Cobb |
7 | Fall | 1979 | Bob Clayton |
8 | Fall | 1979 | Jane Price |
9 | Spring | 1980 | Mike Donegan |
10 | Spring | 1980 |