Oratoire du Louvre. Originally conceived as a church by the Congregation of the Oratory of Jesus, this building—set between Rue de Rivoli, Rue de l’Oratoire, and Rue Saint-Honoré—went through many twists and turns during its construction. The foundation stone was laid on 22 September 1621, but the church would only be fully completed much later. Still unfinished but already designated as the Royal Oratory, it was here that the funeral services for Richelieu, Louis XIII, and Queens Anne of Austria and Marie-Thérèse were held. Richly decorated, the Royal Oratory featured an imposing canopied high altar, notably adorned with sculptures by François Pollet. The building and its interior decoration were completed in 1748, and two years later, on 12 July 1750, this church—begun 130 years earlier—was finally consecrated. Probably because of the spirit of independence within the Oratorian congregation, the Revolution was at first rather well received. However, the congregation itself was ultimately swept away by revolutionary violence in August 1792. The Oratory was suppressed and, like most churches, the building was ransacked and looted in 1793: tombs in the side chapels were destroyed, coats of arms, portal sculptures, fleurs-de-lis on the vaults and stained-glass windows, and almost all the interior paintings were either destroyed or sold. The building was then used as a lecture hall, study space, and storage for theatre sets. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Concordat and Napoleon I gave the Oratory a new lease of life. Although the church was made available to the Reformed (Protestant) congregation by Napoleon in 1811, this was only temporary, and it was not until 1844 that its assignment to the Reformed Consistory became permanent. In the 20th century, the Oratoire du Louvre became a major centre of French Protestantism. Since then, under the influence of many pastors, artists, its choir, and its organists, it has developed a rich musical life in which the music of J. S. Bach is never far away.