Unfortunately, with the Revolution, like several French churches, the Oratoire du Louvre was confiscated and given to the Reformed - and, not long afterwards, many of Congregation's priests were murdered (15 priests of the Oratory were guillotined or died in prison) or expelled. It was never returned to the Church, and it remains a publicly-owned Protestant-run building to this day.
As the month especially dedicated to prayers for the souls of our Brothers and Sisters in Purgatory comes to an end, in the year of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the death of Rameau, and the last day of the Liturgical Year, we recall all souls with this stunningly beautiful 1956 recording of the Gilles Requiem. (And for communities with the resources to celebrate great works of music in Masses for All Souls, consider the Jean Gilles Requiem as one of next year's options.)
