WINFIELD – What do you call a spiritual movement that has flourished with the laity for more than 80 years throughout the world?
In the Catholic Church, it is called the Cursillo.
“It is translated as ‘little course,’ and it is meant to teach the laity about the faith of the Catholic Church,” said Father Thomas Mischler, spiritual director for the Diocese of Gary Cursillo and also the pastor of Holy Spirit in Winfield and St. Helen in Hebron, and administrator of St. Mary in Kouts. “It’s leading people to Jesus.”
The cornerstone of the Cursillo movement is four-day retreat weekends held separately for men and women, hosted annually by the Diocese of Gary. They take place from Thursday evening through Sunday, and the activities are planned by a team of Cursillistas.
The other two components of the movement are the group reunions and the Ultreya.
In the Diocese of Gary, this year’s retreats will both be held at Camp Lawrence in Valparaiso, for women on Sept. 11-14 and for men on Oct. 23-26. Billed as “a powerful journey that helps illuminate your path and deepens your faith, offering a lifelong walk with Jesus through community, prayer and purpose,” a Cursillo is seen as “a way to live and embrace your faith more fully every day.”
There is a sense that a Cursillo is secretive because it is not explicitly described, but diocesan women’s director Cindy Baumeister, of Holy Spirit, said that is simply a function of the flexible schedule.
“We want to be in the moment, focus on the moment, so we do not have a written schedule,” explained Baumeister, who made her first Cursillo in 2013. “What comes next depends on what we are experiencing.”
The course has remained the same, with 15 small talks each weekend, five by clergy and 10 by those who have completed a Cursillo, but the order is flexible. Prayer is a strong component of the retreats, and so are the testimonials, reflection and shared meals.
“I do the liturgies and give spiritual talks,” said Father Mischler. “Personal talks, or ‘rollos,’ lead attendees through each day, focusing on what the Church provides. The sacraments are included, and there is reflection on how God provides to combat spiritual setbacks.”
The Cursillo movement was established in 1944 in Mallorca, a Spanish island, in an effort at religious revitalization for Spanish Catholic men in the aftermath of World War II. The movement came to the United States in 1957 thanks to a pair of Spanish Catholic air force pilots stationed in Waco, Texas.
The Diocese of Gary introduced the movement, which by then had been opened to women, about 20 years later. One of the earliest local Cursillistas is Bobbie Kennedy, of St. Paul and St. Teresa of Avila in Valparaiso, who made her Cursillo in 1971 and has remained active in the community.
“My late husband made his Cursillo first – men used to have to attend before their wives – and I guess I was moved to follow a year later by the Holy Spirit,” Kennedy said. “I went with a friend and not only did my faith increase, but my sense of community increased.
“I joined a Cursillo ‘friendship group’ over 50 years ago and we still meet regularly. I recently lost my husband, and without my two children and my group, I wouldn’t be here,” she added.
“You grow in your faith, yes, but it is also fun. In our friendship group, we find out how much more alike you are,” Kennedy said. “Most groups have 3-4 people, but ours has 17.”
The men’s leader for the Diocese of Gary Cursillo is Damian Rico, a parishioner at St. Thomas More in Munster who made his Cursillo in 2000. “It is probably the most impactful thing I’ve ever done,” he said.
Having encouraged his wife, his mother and father, his sister and brother-in-law to make a Cursillo, Rico calls the weekend retreat “a gift that keeps on giving” that has not only spurred “a wonderful relationship with my family, but is a constant reminder to be Christ-like to one another. It’s contagious.
“Everyone has a difficult journey in life,” Rico noted, “but finding a true relationship with Christ is my biggest achievement.”
For more information on making a Cursillo in the Diocese of Gary, or to register for an upcoming weekend, visit cursillogary.com.
