A ZENIT DAILY DISPATCH
A ZENIT DAILY DISPATCH
Cursillo Movement
Rooted in 1940s Spain
VATICAN CITY, 12 SEPT. 2006 (ZENIT)
Here is the description of the World Organization of the Cursillo Movement which appears in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
* * *
Official name: World Organization of the Cursillo Movement
Acronym: OMCC (Organismo Mundial de Cursillos de Cristiandad)
Established: 1980
History: OMCC was established as an organization to coordinate the Cursillos de Cristiandad Movement that was founded in Majorca, Spain, at the end of the 1940s by a small group of laymen and priests. They felt the need to provide religious instruction for people to enable them to restore a Christian impetus to a life that had ceased to be Christian.
Based on the conviction that, through the strength of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, the lay faithful have a specific role to play in the mission of evangelization, the movement strives to set up groups of baptized Christians to act as leaven for the evangelization of the places in which they live and work.
The aims of the Cursillos, which make themselves available to serve the bishops as an instrument for their pastoral work, are achieved in three phases:
— the pre-cursillo, to identify the environments that are in greatest need of evangelization, and within them, the leaders, meaning the individuals that can "lead" others to the good news;
— the cursillo, which is a short spiritual experience of great intensity, during which a team of priests and lay persons present the selected people with the fundamental truths of Christianity accompanied by their own personal testimony of life. During the three days of the "short course," many people both within and outside the movement offer Our Lord their intentions, that is to say, their prayers and sacrifices to pray for the conversion of the participants in the cursillo;
— the post-cursillo, to guarantee perseverance in the life of grace, by assiduously frequenting the sacraments, prayer and the weekly meeting of the cursillo members (Ultreya), at which they share their experiences, reflect on them in the light of the Word of God, and then program their apostolic actions and the formation of evangelization groups.
Identity: Officially recognized on May 31, 2004, by the Pontifical Council for the Laity as a structure to coordinate, promote and disseminate the experience of Cursillos de Cristiandad, the OMCC is at the service of the dynamic unity of the movement worldwide, and is responsible for coordinating its initiatives and its policy and organizational directives.
It exercises its authority over the international groups, the national secretariats and the diocesan secretariats of the Cursillos, in order to support the movement's fidelity to the Church and the magisterium; to preserve identity and unity in fidelity to the original charism; to promote unity and cooperation between the international groups, coordinating their activities; and to spread the movement to countries where it is not yet present.
Organization: OMCC comprises its own Executive Committee and the Executive Committees of the Cursillos International Groups. The Executive Committee is made up of the president, representing the movement which is all the international groups; the vice president; the ecclesiastical assistant; the secretary; and the bursar.
Membership: OMCC is at the service of Cursillos de Cristiandad which are present in 63 countries, in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.
Publications: Bollettino OMCC, published semiannually
Web site: www.cursillo.de
Headquarters: Organismo Mundial de Cursillos de Cristiandad
c/o Juan Ruiz
OMCC President
15839 Hillgate Drive
Whittier, CA 90604
U.S.A.
Tel. (1) 562-947-7824 — Fax 562-943-2254
E-mail: jxruiz@adelphia.net
© Copyright 2006 — Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted]
ZE06091225
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