Three-day movement

The three-day movement refers to a network of religious groups conducting spiritual retreats to enrich the lives of fellow Christians. Sustained by secular clergy, the laity, and other previous participants, the movement is associated with a retreat spanning three days. Some adherents proclaim the life of an attendee transforms on the fourth day.

Such retreats began as an apostolic movement on the island of Mallorca, where a group of Catholic laity first developed the Cursillo in 1944. With participation unrestricted by Christian denomination, the Cursillo soon spread to other countries. In time Cursillo attendees developed similar programs tailored to specific audience groups, including programs for younger people, for the incarcerated or those affected by incarceration, and at times for particular denominational approaches.

Some organizations within the three-day movement license Cursillo material, while other groups develop similar programs under another name, or even deviate from the three-day structure. The broader three-day movement enjoys much collaboration: different organized groups provide mutual ongoing support, expressed through prayer, sending letters, and other means. The general lack of denominational requirements among participants allows for the movement's collaborative nature.