Lindsey McIntosh - The Waldensians

Pastor Francesco Marfè gives a sermon on being welcoming to strangers to his congregation at the Waldensian Church in Florence, Italy on Sunday, May 25, 2025.

"Foresteria Valdese di Firenze" is the hotel I stayed in during my time in Florence, owned by a religious evangelical group, the Waldensians. The Waldensians originated during the Middle Ages with a man named Valdo. Valdo started to preach the gospel even though he was not a priest, resulting in his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. Valdo’s followers became known as “Poor Men of Lyons,” and it further spread during the Reformation. The Waldensians could not worship freely in Italy until the late 1970s after the separation of church and state. In 1979, the Waldensians united with the Methodist Church, called the Synod.

Waldensians believe the only foundation of Christianity is the Bible. They do not dictate on political, moral, or social matters. The Waldensians believe there is no reason to have a priest because Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice and forgave sins, making it unnecessary to have a human mediator. There are both women and men pastors.

Baptism is either done at a very young age as a child and then goes through a Biblical school until they turn the age of 17 or 18 to apply to become a church member, said Waldensian Debora Spini. Parents can also choose for their children to go through the Bible school and then the children can be baptized, Spini said.

Map of the Waldensian churches and hospitality services offered in Italy from the "Foresteria di Valdese di Firenze" hotel in Florence, Italy on Thursday, May 22, 2025.

The hotel I stayed in had separate beds even if you came with a significant other. They are known to separate the beds if they are put together. The Waldensians like to offer a lot of services for hospitality like a place to stay for international travelers.

I traveled to Chiesa Evangelica Valdese in Florence for their 10 a.m. service on a Sunday morning finding it on a map at the hotel. It was about a 45-minute walk and running late after my navigation app led me in the wrong direction.

The Waldensian Church in Florence, Italy, on Sunday, June 1.

The Waldensian Church in Florence, Italy after Sunday’s service on May 25, 2025.

I tried to speak some Italian I wrote down as I entered to explain that I was a student journalist and would like to enjoy the service and learn more about it for my project. They wanted to help me by finding some English speakers to help greet me and help me get seated for the service. They handed me a sheet of paper in Italian laying out the order of events for the service.

The service was entirely in Italian, and I admittedly did not understand any of it but I relied my best on my observations. The pastor, Pastor Francesco Marfè, wore a black coat and a white collar that looked almost like a bowtie rather than the traditional white slip seen on a priest. The church itself had mosaics, a pulpit, wooden pews, and an organ. The church was originally a 19th century Anglican church named “the Holy Trinity Church” before it became a Waldensian church in the 1960s Spini told me. There were no children in the service and most in attendance were young adults and elderly. There is a Sunday school during some services Spini said. They had hymn books for when we sang for worship. No communion was held during the service, but in a reformed church, there is typically a communion once every month so taking communion does not become a habit Spini said.

A guest pastor comes to the Waldensian Church in Florence, Italy and helps with communion on Sunday, June 1, 2025.

An English-speaking attendee approached me after the service asking if I wanted the service translated so I would understand what was said.

Pastor Francesco Marfè's Sermon on Lot and being accepting to outsiders in the Florence Italy's Waldensian Church on Sunday, May 25, 2025.

The sermon focused on the passage from Genesis 19, where Lot was not accepted because he was a foreigner, the attendee said. He offered his daughters to the men present to gain acceptance in the community. The pastor stated that the underlying message of the passage was to be accepting of foreigners, which includes any stranger, such as homosexuals, the attendee noted, emphasizing that this perspective was not political but rather a call to accept others as stated in the Bible.

A hymn book in the Florence, Italy's Waldensian Church used for worship on Sunday, June 1, 2025.

Worship from the service in Florence, Italy's Waldensian Church on Sunday, May 25, 2025.

The service ended with having coffee as a congregation and I was able to speak with Debora Spini and try to interact with the pastor who did not speak English.

Pastor Francesco Marfè’s sermon notes and Bible after Sunday’s service in the Waldensian Church in Florence, Italy on May 25, 2025.

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