Remember General de Gaulle’s visit here in 1944? Today we explore the Church of St. Louis of the French. It stands as a testament to Moscow’s complex religious history.
The Church of St. Louis of the French is a Roman Catholic church. It is located in the Lubyanka neighborhood. This places it right in the city center. The church belongs to the French parish. The parish was also the founder.
Let’s step back to 1627. Louis de Guy sought permission to build a church. He was the ambassador of the French King Louis XIII. He wanted it for French merchants. But Catholics faced restrictions. They could not freely build churches.
The first wooden Catholic church appeared in 1688. The French became its parishioners. Before this, they attended the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. It was Moscow’s oldest Catholic church. By the late 18th century, it became too small. Sermons were in German and Polish. The French community desired its own space.
Empress Catherine II granted approval. Permission came from Moscow authorities. A plot was purchased. It lay between Malaya Lubyanka Street and Milyutinsky Lane. A small wooden French church was built there. The church was consecrated in 1791. It was dedicated to the French King Louis IX Saint. This church started the French community’s development.
Parishioners’ contributions helped expand the church. The Russian government provided a loan. Construction of a stone church began in 1827. Domenico Gilardi designed it. The work finished in 1830. The church’s consecration occurred later in 1849.
The Church of St. Louis established educational institutions. St. Dorothea’s shelter was built in 1885. The men’s real school of St. Philip Neri opened in 1861. The women’s school of St. Catherine was created in 1888.
By 1917, the parish numbered 2700 people. The revolution brought hard times. Church property was nationalized. Searches and destruction occurred repeatedly. The educational institutions closed by 1919.
After two Catholic churches closed, St. Louis remained open. It was Moscow’s only Catholic church. Along with Our Lady of Lourdes in Leningrad. They became the only active Catholic churches in the RSFSR.
A new period began in the 1990s. The interior was largely reconstructed. Roof replacement and facade restoration took place in 2017. Today, services are held in multiple languages. These include Russian, English and French.
The Church of St. Louis of the French remains a symbol. It represents Catholicism in Russia. It stands for freedom and religious tolerance.