By Larry Melear

On June 1, the Atlanta Catholic Cursillo Movement will change spiritual directors for the first time in its 16 year history.

Father Richard A. Kieran, who has been shepherd to the Atlanta movement since its infancy in the mid-1960’s is resigning to accept the pastorate of St. Joseph’s Church in Athens. Replacing him as spiritual director is Father James Adams, who experienced a Cursillo weekend before he entered the seminary.

“He is loved and will be missed,” says Sister Margaret McAnoy, IHM, who directs the Atlanta Cursillo office as its only full-time employee. “Father Richard” as he is usually called was never assigned to the movement full time, but his friends report that the Cursillo was high on his priority list and became a “labor of love.”

It was quite by accident that Father Richard became involved in the Cursillo. (The Cursillo is a renewal movement which trains parish leaders in the process of evangelization; its roots are Spanish, and the movement has been active internationally for more than 30 years.)

Father Richard, then an associate pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary in northeast Atlanta, was “volunteered” by his pastor Msgr. Michael Regan to attend the first Cursillo weekend in Atlanta. (The weekend is a three-day short course in Christianity which is presented by a team of lay people and clergy.) That initial Cursillo was offered by a team from Chicago; too few Atlantans had yet experienced the weekend.

Through the years, the Cursillo has grown steadily and quietly. It’s estimated that upwards of three thousand priests, religious and lay people have experienced the Cursillo in Atlanta. In recent years, most weekends for women have been held at Ignatius House retreat center in Sandy Springs; Cursillos for men are held in Conyers at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Separate weekends are available in English, Spanish and Korean.

Repaying the Chicago team for bringing the Cursillo to the south, teams from Atlanta have ventured to Florida, Alabama and the Carolinas, and people from those areas have journeyed to Atlanta for the Cursillo experience. As a result, the Cursillo has blossomed in several southeastern dioceses.

The Cursillo is also alive in several Protestant denominations. Father Richard and teams from the Atlanta Catholic Movement were active in training Cursillo leadership for the Episcopal, Lutheran and other churches.

Father continued his involvement as spiritual director through a succession of assignments in Catholic education, diocesan administration, and most recently as pastor of Holy Family parish in Marietta. The Athens assignment places him at too great a distance from the Cursillo office in the Catholic Center and from the movement’s lay leadership, most of whom live in metro Atlanta. Also, Father Richard wishes to focus his full energy on the spiritual needs of his new parish.

The Cursillo said its official good-bye at a reception and “roast” held May 12 at the weekly Leaders’ School – an ongoing training program for parish leaders of the Movement.

Our movement in Atlanta is among the strongest and most active in the country,” reports Sister Margaret. “I give credit first to the Lord, but also to the enthusiasm and tireless dedication which Father has given us.”

While Father Richard will no longer be involved in the Cursillo at the diocesan level, he will direct parish Cursillo activities and, as pastoral duties permit, participate as a team member on future weekends.