OUR HISTORY
How Via de Cristo Began
Via de Cristo began as an offshoot of the Cursillo movement. Cursillo, (Literally: Short courses of Christianity) is an apostolic movement founded by a group of Catholic laymen in Majorca, Spain in 1944 as a technique to train pilgrimage Christian leaders.
THE EARLY DAYS
The first stirring of what was later to become the Cursillo Movement began during the years of World War II. The Spanish Civil War had ended in 1939 and the years following were tumultuous times within the Spanish Church. The idea was born to have a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James of Compostela, the great Spanish pilgrimage center of the Middle Ages. The pilgrimage would be a time for men and women of Spain to dedicate themselves in a renewed way to the work of the apostolate.
The pilgrimage provided a brotherhood that sparked further efforts for renewal in different Catholic action groups. Bishop Juan Hervas had been involved in Catholic action and through this action would give rise to the first three days.
This account covers the following points:
The history of the Cursillo Movement, which involves Spain in the 1940’s
The post-Civil War situation in Spain and the rise of Franco
Spain’s relationship with the Vatican
The nature of the Spanish mentality
The influence of Catholic Action on the Cursillo Movement
The strategy and method of the Cursillo Movement.
June 1936
The History of Spain and the Cursillo Movement
Spain and the Cursillo Movement The Cursillo Movement was born in Spain in the 1940's, but to understand the movement in depth, one must understand Spanish history and the Spanish [...]
March 1939
The post-Civil War Atmosphere in Spain and the Rise of Franco
The Spanish Civil War ended in 1939. After this long period of more than five decades, we are now far removed from that conflict. In addition, the Spanish Civil War [...]
January 1940
Spain’s Relationship With the Vatican
Pope Pius XI and his advisors were quite surprised at the fury of the anticlerical persecution. However, they had been watching the situation in Spain develop since 1931 and did [...]
February 1940
The Nature of the Spanish Mentality
The Concordat with Roma had a profound effect upon the Cursillo Movement. It left the movement in a position of being unable to confront the government and unable to take [...]
June 1940
The Influence of Catholic Action on the Cursillo Movement
Ivan Rohloff reports that as far back as 1889, Pope Leo XIII set the stage for the Cursillo in his encyclical "Rerum Novarum." Leo urged the formation of a network [...]
January 2020
Strategy and Method in the Cursillo Movement
The birth of the Cursillo came about as the result of the preparations for the Great Pilgrimage of 1948 to Compostela, the tomb of St. James the Greater. These preparations [...]
CELEBRATING WEEKEND #100
OUR FUTURE
Upcoming Events
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