In celebration of women’s history month, I’d like to share once again the story and legacy of my great-grandmother, Caterina Gardella (Palma). We named our little “Kat” (twin A) after her.
I wrote this bio in honor of the legacy of my paternal great-grandmother, Caterina Gardella. She was a church founder, the first Secretary-Treasurer of the Christian Church of North America, and a gifted pianist. It was originally published on the website, Explorations in Italian Protestantism, edited by noted historian Mark P. Hutchinson (Alphacrucis College).
Caterina (Kathryn) Gardella was born in New York City on 24 February 1885, the second oldest of ten children born to Paolo Carlo Gardella (b. 1856, Favale di Malvaro, Genova; d. 1952, Chiavari) and Rosa Anna Lidia Cereghino (b. 1859, Favale di Malvaro, Genova; d. 1922, at sea). Of Waldensian background, shortly after her parents immigrated in 1880 the family joined the First Italian Presbyterian Church in Chicago. Gardella was trained under the able ministry of the evangelist Michele Nardi and Waldensian pastor Filippo Grill. Due to differences over the Presbyterian mode of baptism (by…
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