Peoria Cursillo ( pronounced "kur-see-yo" ) is a Spanish word meaning "short course" - short course in Christianity. The Cursillo started in Spain in the late 1940s and spread throughout the Spanish speaking countries of the world. It came to the United States in 1957 when Spanish Air Cadets, training in Texas held a Cursillo weekend for a group of Spanish speaking men. The first English language Cursillo was held in 1961 in San Angelo, Texas, and that year, the movement spread to a dozen other states, including Illinois. The movement was introduced in the Peoria diocese in 1964 where it is ecumenical - open to all faiths. Local leaders have helped establish similar national programs in the Episcopal, Methodist and Lutheran churches, and the prison ministry program is an additional outgrowth of the Peoria Cursillo movement.