Unity of purpose is essential if there is to be a courageous and total service of Jesus Christ through the Cursillo Movement.  Individualism halts the advance of the movement and, in fact, disintegrates it.  The Secretariat unifies the movement on all levels and indicates the path to be followed in essential matters of practical details as indicated in the official literature.  However, in all questions of importance it listens to the leaders before deciding what should or should not be done.

    The members of Leader’s School will be in constant dialogue with the Secretariat.  The members of the Secretariat, for their part, should recall that the Lord, through His Bishop, has given them a most serious responsibility for the implementation of the authentic Cursillo Movement in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.  Conscious of each one’s talents, it should coordinate individual contributions into a total effort in Cursillo and Post Cursillo.

    Making decisions is a formidable charge for the Secretariat.  All Cursillistas must support it by prayer and palanca.  In guiding the Movement, the Secretariat must be watchful not to create subservience but to build up the whole Body of Christ.  The Secretariat must determine the potential of the entire diocesan movement so that each person may be led to discover his individual potential and contribute to the building up of the Kingdom of God.  This it should do in love, at the same time demanding a just response from each leader.  The Secretariat should not be dictatorial but must view its authority as one of total service to the total movement.  It must remember that the movement’s direction has been entrusted to it by Christ through the Bishop, to whom it will have to give account for this charge.  The Secretariat, as a service unit, is not established to be served but to serve those who serve most and best, namely the leaders.  In this sense, the Secretariat cannot be thought of except as a group reunion whose apostolic plan is the promotion of the Cursillo Movement itself, programmed and carried out with the idea of the greatest service to all. (The Fundamental Ideas of The Cursillo Movement, Chapter VII)

    Just as clerics bear the responsibility for spiritual guidance, and laymen regulate the overall functioning on the 3-Day Cursillo, so Cleric and Lay members of the Secretariat will cooperate for furthering the aims and objectives of the Cursillo Movement as a whole.  (Vatican II, “Decree On The Apostolate Of The Laity”, No 4; “Constitution on the Church”)




In the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee there shall be only one Secretariat of Cursillo In Christianity which shall be a functional and autonomous organism under the immediate direction of the Bishop and dependent on him.



As a group, the members of the Secretariat shall guide and coordinate all phases of the Cursillo Movement in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee within the pastoral plan of the Bishop and the Diocesan Cursillo Movement.



Officers of the Secretariat shall be elected.  With the approval of the Bishop, other members shall be appointed by the Secretariat.  Members shall be nominated or appointed from those who are active participants in the School of Leaders.  Active members of the School of Leaders are those who have been attending an on-going School and have not missed more than three consecutive sessions.  Appointed members of Secretariat may not serve two consecutive terms of office.  Any member of the Secretariat who is absent from three consecutive meetings, without prior notification to the Lay Director, shall be removed from Secretariat.



Since the Secretariat is itself a group reunion, there shall be a sharing of Holiness, Formation, Evangelization and moment closest to Christ by each member at every Secretariat meeting.



The Leader’s School is the cornerstone of the Cursillo Movement and the complement and extension of the Secretariat.  It is recommended that satellite schools shall be established as needed.  The school will supply the Secretariat with the names of leaders who are technically and spiritually prepared so that they may be the ferment of the Cursillo Movement in the diocese.  The responsibility rests on the leaders for vitalizing Group Reunions and the Ultreyas, which are the means of perseverance in the Post Cursillo.




The Secretariat shall be composed of lay people and Cleric advisor(s).

A.    Officers – There shall be a Lay Director, Treasurer and Secretary who will be chosen by a majority vote of the Secretariat.  In order to be eligible for election to Lay Director, a nominee shall have been a member of the Secretariat for one (1) year.  Officers shall be elected in November and take office in January.

1.     The Lay Director, in consultation with the Spiritual Advisor, will prepare agenda for, convoke, and preside at all meetings of the Secretariat; he/she will do everything possible to promote a spirit of unity, not only among the members of the Secretariat, but in Leader’s School and throughout the whole diocesan movement.; he/she will see to it that each fellow member of the Secretariat fulfills his/her assigned duties.  In addition, he/she will present to the Bishop, in the name of Secretariat, an annual report and, if necessary, an interim report.

The Lay Director shall serve for two (2) years and may be re-elected for one (1) additional year of office.

The elected Lay Director may, with the approval of Secretariat, appoint, for a term of one (1) year, an assistant Lay Director.

The Lay Director will represent the Diocese at Regional and National Encounters.

2.    The Spiritual Advisor oversees the spiritual needs of the Secretariat and the Movement.  The Spiritual Advisor, who is appointed by the Bishop, maintains a link between the Movement and the Bishop’ Office.  To insure proper spiritual assistance to the Movement, the Spiritual Advisor is responsible for acquiring other priests, vowed religious and deacons to assist with the Doctrinal Talks at the School of Leaders; the spiritual sessions during the Cursillo Weekends; and the Spiritual Advisors role during the Ultreya.  The Spiritual Advisor should continually challenge the other Secretariat members to discern all their activities.  We must always strive to seek God’s will, not our own.

3.    The Treasurer shall handle the financial matters of the Cursillo Movement.  He/She will do whatever is necessary to ensure that the movement is financially sound at all times and that local, regional, and national financial obligations are met.  He/She will purchase all required books, publications and other supplies which are needed by the movement.

In the event that the Treasurer is incapacitated, the Lay Director shall sign the checks.

4.    The Secretary will keep the minutes of all meetings and see to it that they are distributed promptly to all who should receive them.  (Bishop, Spiritual Directors, Secretariat members)  He/She will see to it that mailing lists are up-to-date and assume responsibility for all mailings sent out by the Secretariat.  (Except publication and mailing of the newsletter.)  He/She will perform other duties usually connected with this office.

B.    Non-officers  -  The Lay Director shall appoint at least one representative for each of the three phases of the Cursillo Movement.  These positions shall consist of Pre-Cursillo Chairperson, Cursillo Chairperson and Post-Cursillo Chairperson.  Chairpersons of the three sections may appoint individuals to oversee committees respective to the work of that section. (i.e., Preparation Committee for the Pre-Cursillo section, Procurement Committee for the Cursillo section, Newsletter for the Post-Cursillo section.)  The leaders of these various committees report directly to their respective chairperson.  The committee leaders are not members of the Secretariat.  Non-officers shall serve for two (2) years.

1.    Pre-Cursillo Chairperson  -  insures that the Movement maintains its focus on the various environments within the diocese.  Continual efforts must be exerted in order to identify key environments and the influential people within these environments.  The Pre-Cursillo Chairperson further insures that proper procedures are in place to facilitate a smooth transition from the Pre-Cursillo to the {Post-Cursillo} by way of the Cursillo weekend.

    He/She shall maintain a file of all current applications for Cursillo weekends.

    He/She shall receive all applications, check for completeness, and identify any problems and bring them to the attention of the Secretariat.

    He/She shall forward all the applications to the team coordinator, retaining those which show problems until they can be presented to the Secretariat and said problems addressed by the Secretariat with the proper amount of time for consideration.

    After the weekend, the team coordinators will return all applications to the Pre-Cursillo Chairperson who will destroy the applications of those who have made the weekend and return the applications of those who did not make the weekend to the applicant’s sponsor, via the Area Coordinator.
    The Pre-Cursillo Chairperson should read Lower Your Nets, The Leaders Manual and other pertinent communications and make suggestions to the Secretariat based on the literature.


2.    Cursillo Chairperson  -  insures that every element of the Cursillo Weekend is directed to properly educating the candidates who attend these Weekends.  This includes such things as team selection, team preparation, overseeing the facilities, comfort and necessary supplies.  Team selection shall be made from the active members of the School of Leaders as defined in Article II.

After prayer and discernment and meeting with the School of Leaders, present prospective team coordinators and team members to the Secretariat.

Be the liaison between TC and Secretariat.  Keep in touch with them for assistance or problems.

Maintain information/application sheets of team members and update them after weekend participation by team members

Provide a post 3 Day report and evaluation.


3.    Post-Cursillo Chairperson  -  insures that every cursillista within the Diocesan Movement has the opportunity to grow in their own Fourth Day.  This is accomplished by insuring a link between the School of Leaders and all of the Group Reunions within the diocese.  Furthermore, the Chairperson of the Post-Cursillo insures that an adequate number of Ultreyas (the linkage between the various Group Reunions) are in existence within the diocese.  They are also responsible for determining and scheduling any necessary Diocesan, regional and national workshops.


a.     Area Coordinator  -  local communities will select the Area Coordinators.  Area Coordinators will be the liaison between the different Ultreyas and the Secretariat; the arms, ears and eyes of the Lay Director in the community; prepare a written report for the Secretariat; have the pulse of the local community; encourage and support Group Reunion and Ultreya and forward data to the newsletter.

b.    Newsletter functions as a visible means of communication between Secretariat, School of Leaders and the Cursillo community.  Palanca is a tool for the total movement and must be coordinated to benefit all phases of the movement.



Liaison shall be established and maintained with the National and Regional Secretariats.  The Diocesan Secretariat shall support the National and Regional Secretariats both spiritually (by way of prayer and palanca) and materially (by way of financial contributions).  The Diocesan Secretariat shall contribute dues to both the National and Regional Secretariats annually.



The Secretariat shall implement the Cursillo Movement in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee according to that which is essential and fundamental as outlined in the official literature of the movement.  The Diocesan Secretariat shall submit to the guidelines established by the National and Regional Secretariats.



Amendments to these by-laws may be proposed by any member of the Secretariat and may be made, at its regular meeting, by two-thirds majority vote, provided that the proposed amendment has been submitted at least one month in advance of the meeting at which the proposed amendment is to be discussed and voted upon.