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eleven years old was only king in name, the acting regent’s official request to establish the
Oratory was merely a procedural formality. A year and a half later, the queen along with Bishop
Gondi requested Pope Paul V to issue the bull Sacrosanctae Romaneae Ecclesiae, which
formally instituted the French Oratory in Paris. 100
In addition to securing the proper documents to legally create the congregation, on 2
January 1612 Maria de’ Medici declared herself the founder of the French Oratory. 101 The
honorary title had originally been reserved for the Marquise de Maignelay, who had donated fifty
thousand livres to the Oratory with the request that she could be a participant in the prayers. 102
Upon hearing of the queen’s desire for this distinction, the marquise willingly gave it up as long
as the priests would still honor her request. The congregation was quite pleased to have received
such support. To thank the queen, Bérulle included a dedicatory inscription to her in the newly
published version of Giovanni Pietro Guissano’s Life of St. Charles Borromeo, which the
Oratorian Nicolas de Soulfour had just translated from Italian to French. 103 Bérulle,
who
negotiated a reconciliation between Louis XIII and his mother in1619, remained an intimate
friend and advisor to Maria de’ Medici until his death in 1629.
The congregation’s move in 1616 to a house adjacent to the grounds of the Louvre
further reinforced the Oratory’s connections to Maria de’ Medici, who was then residing at the
royal palace. Upon relocating to the new house, Bérulle’s first priority was building a chapel. 105
Maria immediately showed her continued support by paying for this structure, which Bérulle
helped to build with his own hands and in which mass was being held later that year. 106
The queen would have undoubtedly continued to support the congregation in her search
for political control had Louis XIII not exiled her in 1617 for wielding too much power and
influence. 107 While the banishment lasted until 1620 and Maria was only welcomed back to
court and admitted to the king’s council in early 1622, the strong foundation she had provided
for the French Oratory allowed the fathers to promote the growth of the order. By 1619 the
members of the French Oratory were considering building a new and larger church. The
prestigious location of the house and the congregation’s emphasis on preaching meant that it
attracted numerous people. The original chapel also lacked adequate space to accommodate the
growing number of priests. After buying several neighboring properties, the congregation broke
ground for a new church in the summer of 1621 with the ceremonial blessing and placing of the
first stone occurring the following September. 108
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