The Cursillos in Christianity in the Archdiocese of Davao 1964-2014

(2nd of a series)

Historical Roots

The birthplace of the Cursillo Movement is in the Balearic Islands, the island of Mallorca. Its capital, Palma de Mallorca City, is a tourist destination because of its rocky coastlines, quiet inlets, green mountains, sandy beaches, and peaceful valleys. We learned that this place was first occupied by the Romans then by the Moors of North Africa, taken back by the Spaniards and later by the French. Todate, it is now under Spain.

During the 1930s through the early 1940’s, the leftist Republican government of Spain tried to introduce atheism into all aspects of Spanish life, especially the education system. But Christianity lives within the Mallorcan soul which is deeply rooted in the Gospel. This brought a widespread Civil war that affected mainland Spain to a much greater degree reaching Mallorca. The events that took place and their effects on society ignited a burning passion in many of the Spanish youth, and they responded to a call from the pope to begin a crusade declaring Christ as Saviour.

In an attempt to show the world that faith was alive in Spain, thousands of youth were organized into a spiritual army that was destined to make a great pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the ancient shrine of St James the Apostle, in northern Spain. The organization of the pilgrimage was undertaken by Catholic Action, created in Italy by Pope Pius XI, and which had later spread to Spain. It operated at the diocesan and national levels and its sole purpose was to take 100,000 youths to Santiago on the pilgrimage. The method entailed training leaders in what was known as ‘Cursillos for Pilgrim Leaders’, at the diocesan level, and ‘Cursillos for Pilgrim Guides’, at the parish level. There were also instances that this training program was called “Cursillos de Conquista”. But then, this Catholic Action cursillos (short courses) had the specific purpose of preparing, spiritually and materially, for the pilgrimage to Santiago. This training of Pilgrim Leaders’ and Guides, is now known the “School of Leaders” (SOL), the soul of the present Cursillos de Cristiandad.