Le Temple Protestant De L'Oratoire Du Louvre

About

The Oratoire du Louvre is an iconic Protestant church located at 145 rue Saint-Honore in Paris, across the street from the Louvre Museum. Royal chapel of the Louvre Palace under the French Monarchy, it hosted great ceremonies including the funeral of king Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu. The building was surrounded by a vast convent where sat the Congregation de l'Oratoire, a religious order of the catholic Counter-Reformation. The church was looted during the French Revolution. By a curious reversal of history, Napoleon gave it in 1811 to the Reformed Protestants ("Calvinists"). They had just regained their freedom of worship after a century of persecutions. In 1889 was built a monument to Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, famous Huguenot leader of the 16th century, on the rue de Rivoli end of the church. The parish has become the flagship of liberal theology in France, a faith in dialogue with reason inherited from the Enlightenment.

At a glance

• Typical visit: about 30 minutes