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Cursillo-related Movements > Youth Movements >L'Étincelle

L'Étincelle

"L'Étincelle" (a French name meaning "spark") is a Catholic movement for teens between the ages of 14 and 18.  This movement is usually in conjunction with "La Flambée" ("blaze"), its counterpart for young adults, ages 19-30. 

It was founded in Sherbrooke, QC, Canada, in the spring of 1981, by a cursillista, Roger Poudrier, a Franciscan Friar, who organized the first meeting with 15 boys and 15 girls, at "Le Buisson Ardent"  A few years later, it was implanted in Montreal, QC, under the impulse of two other Franciscan cursillistas: Eugène Bilodeau, ofm & Réjeanne Gagné, pfm.  It spread gradually to the other French-speaking dioceses, in the eastern part of Canada.

The weekend provides an opportunity for the young to reflect on 4 aspects of his life:

  1. self : to discover and appreciate one's own personnal potential and values
  2. friends : discovering the importance of friendship, respect and confidence
  3. family : the why and the how of a better communication with members of the family.
  4. faith : spirituality and the discovery of Christ's love.

As in the Cursillo, this reflection is brought about through different experiences and in a "de colores" atmosphere.  And, as in the Cursillo Movement, there is a follow-up to the weekend through weekly or bi-monthly meetings.

For more information (in French), see L'Étincelle websites