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Despite this strong statement providing the motivating factor for establishing the church
as a royal foundation, the idea to make this gesture did not originate with the king. Instead on 5
Novemeber 1629, a month before the ceremonial placing of the first stone, Anselme de Sainte-
Marguerite, the prior of the monastery, and Fulgence de Sainte-Monique, a member of the order,
secured an audience with Louis XIII at the château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, requesting that
the king be the founder of the church. 23 The Augustins Déchaussés had voted to make the
French monarch their benefactor, but the conditions leading to that decision are unknown. 24
Jean-Marie Barbiche speculates that the victory at La Rochelle prompted the fathers to use the
defeat of the Huguenots to their advantage. He suggests that the reformed Augustinians
presented themselves as preachers converting the heretics, comparing their role to that of Louis
XIII. 25 Adding to this interpretation, I propose that the king’s involvement with other churches
in the capital must be considered. In addition to building on the momentum of La Rochelle, the
king’s renown as a patron of reformed religious orders encouraged the fathers to seek the aid of
the French monarch.
The painting that was once above the high altar of the provisional chapel further supports
this claim. By featuring the Virgin Mary handing the crown to Louis XIII, the painting presented
the conferral of power directly from heaven to the monarch, legitimating the French king’s
authority and semi-divine status. As discussed in chapter three, similar images were in the
process of being completed for Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites. In addition to sculptural decorations of
crowns, fleurs-de-lis, and the royal arms, the interior program of the Jesuit church featured
numerous representations of French kings. 26 Among these was St. Louis, whose apotheosis was
found in the second tier of the altarpiece (fig. 46). The royal imagery not only honored the
church’s patron, but as with the altarpiece at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires it reinforced the divine
right of French monarchs. 27
As with the architecture for their church and the design and print of the foundation stone,
the Augustins Déchaussés looked to Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites for inspiration for the interior of
their place of worship. Prompting the monks to follow the examples at the Jesuit church were
the king’s generous donations to Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites to assist with construction. Believing
that if they too created a space venerating French kingship, then Louis XIII would help to pay the
cost of building a church that he had already named a royal foundation, the Augustins
Déchaussés intentionally borrowed features from the most recent church supported by the king.
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