(C) Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural
This story was originally published by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Ozarks Notebook: The Waldensians Came Home When They Arrived in the Ozarks in 1875 [1]
['Kaitlyn Mcconnell', 'The Daily Yonder', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar']
Date: 2025-08-15
The Waldesians, a European Christian religious group, founded in France, faced persecution from the Catholic Church as far back as the 12th century and had been on the move for years. They went to South America, but it was said to be too lawless. Later, some of the families moved to the United States, and after arriving in St. Louis, Missouri, a minister led them to the southwest part of the state.
That settlement put down roots and grew. Today, the Waldensian Presbyterian Church in southwest Missouri is part of a greater community. It’s unclear just how many followers exist worldwide, but groups are present in Europe, South America, and through a very small number of churches in the United States.
In June of 2025, those linked by lineage and love to the southwest Missouri congregation gathered for a 150th anniversary celebration. The festivities marked its founders’ arrival in the Ozarks, but also proved the importance of that final destination in the present.
The reasons behind those connections exist on a spectrum of “why.” For those with personal memories of the church, it’s about their experiences. For those who are hearing the Waldensian story for the first time, it’s perhaps more awe of how this all came to be.
“It’s a pretty unique story,” Victor Arnaud, in his early 90s, said of the heritage he’s known of all his life.
There’s a reality beyond that history. Friends and family and relationships that have nothing to do with the original story connect them today, all under the church’s Latin motto: “Lux Lucet In Tenebris,” which translates to “A Light Is Shining in the Darkness of Night.”
“There’s also something about it that anchors you,” said Melinda Caldwell, who along with two siblings represented three states at the reunion. “Having all of these people that you know from so many generations. We know so many of these people’s grandparents. It gives you a place in this world – a placeholder – and it makes things a lot more balanced. It’s rich and it’s rare.”
Stained glass windows inside the church showcase its founders ethnic heritage. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)
Who Are The Waldensians?
The idyllic white church stands on the outskirts of Monett, Missouri, a community of about 9,500 people little more than a half-hour’s drive from the Arkansas line. Cornfields waved as children played during the reunion’s festivities, the presence of many more memorialized by nearby gravestones bearing names like Avondet, Balmas and Courdin.
The three-day reunion included an ice cream social, historical presentations and displays in the church, bluegrass and barbecue. A church service concluded the gathering on Sunday morning. They’re things that other rural Ozarks congregations would do, too: A reminder of how the story has evolved over time, and become intertwined with the greater Ozarks story.
But the beginning is different, and centuries of history predated the Waldensians’ arrival in the Ozarks.
“The Waldenes originated as one of the many medieval religious movements on the margins of the Catholic Church,” notes The Courdins of Val Pellice, a book on the movement’s history. “The historical record documents a rich merchant in Lyon, France, by the name of Vaudes, who gave up his wealth and started a new life as an itinerant preacher in the 1170s.”
The Waldensian reunion wasn’t only for those of older ages. Attendees spanned several generations as the community spirit continues. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)
The religious movement began long before Martin Luther and the start of the Protestant Reformation in 1517, although certain elements are similar.
“The Waldensians would not accept the notion of relics, indulgences, the veneration of saints,” noted a Springfield Daily News article in 1979. “They opposed elevating Mary to a special place in the church and thought the use of imagery, or statuary, was contrary to God’s law.
“They translated the Bible into their own language – something that was, at the time, a sin that could result in excommunication.”
This led to the Waldensians being excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1184, and a period of torture and persecution. In 2015, the late Pope Francis formally asked for forgiveness from the Waldensian community for the injustices they experienced.
“Reflecting on the history of our relations, we can only grieve in the face of strife and violence committed in the name of faith, and ask the Lord to give us us the grace to recognize we are all sinners, and to know how to forgive one another,” the Catholic News Agency reported the saying in 2015.
But long before that apology came a decision by the Waldesians: To leave in search of a better life.
Victor Arnaud’s grandmother was only three years old when that original group of Ozarks-bound Waldensian settlers arrived by way of South America. The French-Italian dialect speakers got off the train in a nearby town, found land and established a church. It’s said that they liked the woods and rocks, which reminded them of the Alps.
“They didn’t come by wagon from New York; they rode a train to within 10 or 12 miles of here,” Arnaud said. “It was hard times, no doubt. You marvel at people who gave up everything and didn’t know where they were going or didn’t speak the language – it was hard to do.”
Victor Arnaud, now in his 90s, is one of the oldest members of the congregation. His grandmother was one of its original immigrants in 1875, when she was just three years old. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)
They weren’t the only European immigrants to arrive in the Ozarks during that era. A few miles to the west, Polish settlers established Pulaskifield; Germans populated Freistatt. Many of them were Catholic – including at nearby Pierce City, where there were Polish, German and Irish settlers – but Arnaud doesn’t recall hearing about that being a problem.
“As far as I know, there was no trouble between the Catholics and these people [Waldensians] that came,” he said.
When Monett was established in the late 1880s, locals say a Waldensian was its first mayor. Services at the church switched to English before Arnaud was born in 1932, and he only remembers one person who could speak the French-Italian dialect the Waldensians were known for locally.
“I don’t remember ever hearing it in church,” Arnaud said. “I knew one man later who could speak it. He was the last person I knew who remembered it.”
Evolution of Culture – and Why It Matters Today
While the Waldensian name and heritage remained, the community became firmly immersed in the greater Ozarks landscape. And for the people who came from those settlers, or joined later on, the church became important not only because it was unique, but because it was personal.
“This is a pretty tight-knit community – we all sort of grew up going to church here,” said Katie Parrigon, in her early 40s. “These people are all sort of my grandparents. I’ve known all of these people since I was an infant.”
As I visited with folks, I heard other stories about the connections that brought them there that day. For some, it was about family. That’s what drew the aforementioned Melinda Caldwell and her two siblings from states away to the reunion.
Photos and publications were on display inside the church during the reunion, showcasing its legacy. One example was a scrapbook showcasing a ladies’ workday at the church years ago. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)
“Our family arrived 10 years after they founded the church, and they had a sponsor and they moved here,” Calwell said of their ancestors. “Their homestead was just on the other side of that cornfield down the way. They would walk up the hill and go to church here.”
Caldwell and her brother, Richard Caldwell, grew up in the area but didn’t attend services weekly at the Waldensian church. Their grandparents began attending in Monett during World War II when gas was difficult to come by, and they followed suit. But big moments were still tied to the church that linked them with why they were there, and others who had gone before.
“One word: Family,” said Richard Caldwell of why the history is important to him. “You look out there and you see our heritage out there, our family. It’s important. Even though we went to church in Monett … we’ve always felt a part of this community of people.”
Out in the cemetery, I found Lucy Gilbert and her granddaughter, Shiloh Gilbert, who were walking among family grave stones. For them, the reunion has been a time of discovery about the heritage that began in the late 1800s, when her grandfather moved to the Monett area to join the Waldensians.
Lucy Gilbert, left, and granddaughter Shiloh Gilbert explore the Waldensian Presbyterian Church’s cemetery during the 2025 reunion. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)
“I found my grandfather’s – my dad’s father – picture in one of those rooms, and it was the first time I’d seen his picture,” Lucy Gilbert said of an emotional moment during the reunion. “He died before I was born; I had no idea what he looked like. I also found his wife’s – my grandmother – picture, the first time I’ve ever seen a picture of her.
“It just meant the world to me to get to see them.”
As a child, Gilbert lived about an hour away in Joplin, Missouri, but the family came back annually to attend Easter services at the Waldensian church. For her, the emotional ties to the church lie more in the bloodlines and personal experiences she had than the history books.
“Uncle George’s farm is about two miles west of here,” Gilbert said. “He and his children were always active in this church. Uncle Fred’s children, too. That is why this church is so special to me.”
Shiloh, 16, doesn’t have those same emotional connections. In fact, the reunion was the first time she’d even been aware of this part of her heritage. For her, it was important in other ways: To know more about who she was.
“I think it’s so cool to see my grandma’s lineage and just know where my family originated,” she said. “It’s so cool to know ‘I’m a Waldensian.’
“And I hadn’t even known that until (now).”
Related
Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://dailyyonder.com/ozarks-notebook-the-waldensians-came-home-when-they-arrived-in-the-ozarks-in-1875/2025/08/15/
Published and (C) by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailyyonder/
