Following the Spanish Civil War at the end of the 1930’s a pilgrimage to the shrine of St James in Compostela was arranged in order to encourage the Christian faith in young people and help change their damaged society to one that was fully centred on Christ.
Leaders of the pilgrimage were prepared through short courses, called Cursillos, which improved their knowledge of faith, leadership and the organisation of the pilgrimage.
The first Cursillo took place in August 1944 and although the movement remained reasonably active, it was not until January 1949 that Cursillo really took off and this amazing movement began to spread across all Christian countries and be accepted by all major Christian denominations.
The Cursillo movement was founded by Eduardo Bonnin, who was born in Palma, Majorca in May 1917.
While his love for the Lord was absolute, he had deep concerns that the message of Christ was being presented in a ‘soulless’ way.
Following nearly nine years in the Spanish Army, he dedicated his life to the service of Christ and was led to develop the now universally-known three-day Cursillo course.
Cursillo presented the message of Christ in a different way – not without soul, but with friendship, humility, understanding and love. It established a “Rule of Life” that has been adopted by Christians of all denominations across the globe.
Eduardo died following a short illness at the age of 90. The date was significant as it was Ash Wednesday – the beginning of Lent, which marks the road towards true freedom.
