"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Mathew 28:18
History of the Tres Dias Movement
Tres Dias traces its ancestry through Cursillo.
Cursillo had its beginnings amid the turmoil and destruction of civil
warfare and of the Second World War, which left Spain with empty
churches and a sense of aimlessness and diminished dreams. Late in the
1940's, a sense of revival was stirring within the Roman Catholic
Church. Small groups of friends in various Catholic action groups began
to share their faith regularly to help one another. Pilgrimages were
organized whereby men and women could rededicate their lives toward
Christian ideals. Bishop Juan Hervas, who was active in action groups
and renewal activities with the men on the island of Majorca, and
Eduardo Bonin, who was involved with organizing pilgrimages, met through
these sharing groups. They began to see how the church could benefit and
the lives of people could be changed through studying and sharing their
lives in Christ.
With a broadening vision of what these small sharing groups (reunion
groups) could accomplish, weekly meetings produced periodic retreats
where the reality of living a Christian life was intensely taught and
experienced through support by reunion groups. These retreats became
known as Cursillo de Christiandad, which means "short course in
Christianity." Originally the retreats grew out of the reunion groups!
There were few men in the Church after the tragedy of war in Spain.
One prime objective in the early years was to revitalize the church by
bringing men back into the activities of the church.
The Cursillo movement was confined to Spanish speaking countries
until the late 1950's when a group of men from the Spanish Air Force,
who were in training in Texas, and were in a Reunion Group, conducted
the first Cursillo in the United States. Among the Spanish-speaking
people the movement began to spread across the United States. The first
English speaking Cursillo was held in the early 1960's.
Protestants who attended the weekends, saw the need to make the
experience available to other Protestants. This led to the development
of the interdenominational Tres Dias. The first Tres Dias weekend was
held in Newburgh, New York, November 2-5, 1972. Dave McManigal was its
rector. He was a Protestant who had attended a Roman Catholic Cursillo
and was led to be instrumental in forming Tres Dias That weekend, then
as now, was open to all Christian traditions.
Others involved in starting Tres Dias were Helmut Maier; and Bob and
Mary Essert.
Starting from the Mid-Hudson community in Newburgh/Poughkeepsie, New
York, the movement spread rapidly. Pittsburgh was the second community;
then Fairfield County, Connecticut, Northern New Jersey, Long Island,
Maine, Central Connecticut, New Hampshire, and South Hudson.
In the Spring of 1979, with the encouragement of the Mid-Hudson
Secretariat, John McKinney formed an ad hoc "National" secretariat with
Jim Thornley, Anton Wellbrock, Gerry Hoernes, and Bob Decker. That group
produced initial drafts of a "National" constitution and "Essentials of
Tres Dias". All other communities were invited to participate and refine
the drafts.
On July 11, 1980, at Poughkeepsie, NY, the constitution and
essentials were ratified and adopted by all of the above listed
communities. The Tres Dias organization was formed as a national
organization. The secretariats of the communities were chartered as
local secretariats. John McKinney was the first president. Subsequently,
Tres Dias was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in New York
state ... and was recognized by the Internal Revenue Service.
A "charter" member of the first National/International Tres Dias
Secretariat, Peter Scharfenberg, labored for more than two decades ...
stocking and shipping manuals and materials to Tres Dias people all over
the world.
In 1985 Tres Dias became INTERNATIONAL when communities were
chartered in Korea and Germany.
Tens of thousands of people have made the weekend and tens of
thousands of lives have become more committed to serving our Lord Jesus.
The reporters of this history pray that Tres Dias will continue to be faithful to God's spirit. May the people who have made a Tres Dias, be among the Christian leaders God uses to revitalize his people.