Welcome to the Joliet Cursillo Pre-Cursillo Web page!
The information on this page will answer most all questions candidates and sponsors may have about attending a Cursillo weekend as well as providing details about the Cursillo Movement in general.
For Weekend schedules, please visit the Cursillo Weekends page.
If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via the email address or phone number below. May all of us also take this opportunity to bring another friend to discipleship in Christ. Ultreya!
Annmarie Murphy, Pre-Cursillo Chair
St. Isaac Jogues, Hinsdale
tel: 630-881-9416
email: precursillo [at] jolietcursillo.org
Cursillo Application
Download Cursillo Application 08/14/2023
Attendance at a weekend requires an application and a sponsor.
Please print and mail applications to:
Joliet Cursillo
P.O. Box 4247
Lisle, IL 60532
The Cursillo – A Brief Overview
Your entrance into the Joliet Diocese Cursillo Community begins with an invitation from a Cursillista (a person who has previously completed a weekend) who will serve as your sponsor. Applications, which can be downloaded from the link above, have sections which must be filled out by the candidate, the sponsor, and then mailed to the Joliet Diocese Cursillo Movement’s Pre-Cursillo Chairperson. (The address is provided below and is also on the application itself.)
Once the candidate’s application is processed, the candidate will attend a three-day (72-hour) weekend usually held at a Pastoral Center. The Cursillo Weekend begins on Thursday evening and ends on Sunday evening. Transportation to and from the center will be arranged by your sponsor.
The cost of the Weekend includes incidentals as well as room and board. Snacks and beverages will be available throughout the weekend.
The Cursillo is an opportunity to form and live in community with other Catholics and clergy members. It is immersed in Catholic Doctrine and the Sacraments. The weekend begins with meditation and silence. Daily Mass will be celebrated. There will be morning and night prayer, rosary, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Candidates may receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation as well as spiritual direction. You will listen to 15 Apostolic talks, ten given by laity and five given by clergy, and will take part in small discussion groups following each talk.
The Retreat that Never Ends
- Small Group Reunions. A meeting of friends (men with men, women with women) who gather weekly to share their piety, study and action and encourage each other in their ongoing faith journey.
- Monthly Ultreya. The Ultreya is a “reunion of the reunions”. An aggregate meeting of small group reunions from Parishes within neighboring communities to share piety, study and action, listen to a witness speaker and share fellowship. The Ultreya often follows a Mass.
- Yearly Ultreya Grande. An annual gathering of Cursillistas across the Joliet Diocese attend Mass and share fellowship.
- School of Leaders. Cursillistas who discern a call to become more involved in the movement are encouraged to attend a monthly Leaders’ School to study the Cursillo purpose and method as well as Catholic Doctrine. More information is available here: School of Leaders.
More information is available about the Cursillo Weekend and the Movement in the section below. Please take some time to review these resources.
Pre-Cursillo Resources for the prospective Candidate
Why Cursillo? is a great place to start. This document gives a brief overview of the Weekend, our history and the point of the movement.
- Why Cursillo?
- Why Cursillo? Large Print
A more detailed overview of the Cursillo is found in this document:
Apostolic Endorsements is a set of comments Church Leaders have made about the Cursillo Movement.
Pre-Cursillo Resources for the Sponsor
The documents here are an guide to the prospective Cursillo Sponsor. Please also consider using the above documents (Why Cursillo?, The Cursillo Movement: What is it? and Apostolic Endorsements) as hand-outs for your prospective candidate.
Recently, a group of new Cursillistas compiled a list of the Top Ten Reasons for attending a Cursillo Weekend. There are two versions, one for Men and one for Women. Here they are:
- Top 10 Reasons to Attend a Men’s Cursillo Weekend
- Top 10 Reasons to Attend a Women’s Cursillo Weekend
A Frequently Asked Question List addresses some of the matters which may be on the mind of the Candidate or Sponsor.
A guideline on how to go about sponsoring a Candidate is provided in this document:
Cursillo in the Media
EWTN’s The Church Universal TV broadcast on Cursillo (Mar 2015)
Video link -> Cursillo: Its Origins, Mentality and Purpose
Video link to second episode is now available!
The Church Universal – Cursillo – Part II
Pope Francis visits an Ultreya!
Video of the Pope’s audience with Cursillistas in Rome
Other Media
- Fr. Burke’s talk to Fishers of Men about Cursillo
- At a Fishers of Men evening, Fr. Burke Masters spoke extensively about Cursillo and the great tool it is in evangelization.
- Click to view the video of his talk
- Video Pilgrimage along the Camino
Sponsorship Workshop (Nov 22, 2014)
The following link is to a video of the Sponsorship Workshop held Saturday November 22, 2014 at Our Lady of Peace Parish in Darien.
Link to video of the Sponsorship Workshop
The agenda follows that was published by the National Secretariat in July 2008.
The workshop was hosted and organized by Ed Burjek, Fourth Day Chair and features presentations by the following members of the Joliet Cursillo:
Pat Simmons, St. Pius X Parish, Lombard
- Importance of the Cursillo Method
- Purpose of the Cursillo Movement
- Purpose of Sponsoring
- Sponsor’s Responsibility
Donna Burke, St. Walter Parish, Roselle
- Personal Contact
- Authentic Witness
Tim Moore, St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, Naperville and Lay Director for the Joliet Cursillo
- Selection Process
- Sponsoring Couples
- Total Security