The Waldenses took the full brunt of official opposition. They were a minority group of Bible-oriented people who lived in poor villages in the southeast of the country. Some were burned at the stake, hundreds were massacred, and about 20 of their villages were ravaged.—See box on page 6.

The Waldenses Stood Firm—With What Effect?

PIERRE VALDES, or Peter Waldo, was a wealthy merchant in 12th-century France. During this time when the Roman Catholic Church purposely kept the people in ignorance of the Bible, Waldo financed the translation of the Gospels and other Bible books into the common language of the people of southeastern France. He then gave up his business and dedicated himself to preaching the Gospel. Soon many joined him, and in 1184 he and his associates were excommunicated by Pope Lucius III.

In time, these Bible-oriented groups of preachers became known as the Waldenses. They advocated a return to the beliefs and practices of early Christianity. They rejected traditional Catholic practices and beliefs, including indulgences, prayers for the dead, purgatory, worship of Mary, prayers to the “saints,” infant baptism, adoration of the crucifix, and transubstantiation. As a result, the Waldenses often suffered terribly at the hands of the Catholic Church. Historian Will Durant describes the situation when King Francis I  launched a campaign against non-Catholics:

“Cardinal de Tournon, alleging that the Waldenses were in a treasonable conspiracy against the government, persuaded the ailing, vacillating King to sign a decree (January 1, 1545) that all Waldenses found guilty of heresy should be put to death. . . . Within a week (April 12-18) several villages were burned to the ground; in one of them 800 men, women, and children were slaughtered; in two months 3,000 were killed, twenty-two villages were razed, 700 men were sent to the galleys. Twenty-five terrified women, seeking refuge in a cavern, were asphyxiated by a fire built at its mouth.”

Regarding such historical events, Durant commented: “These persecutions were the supreme failure of Francis’ reign.” But what was the effect upon those who observed the steadfastness of the Waldenses during the persecutions authorized by the king? Durant wrote: “The courage of the martyrs gave dignity and splendor to their cause; thousands of onlookers must have been impressed and disturbed, who, without these spectacular executions, might never have bothered to change their inherited faith.”