Gaspard de Coligny of Châtillon

One of the first victims of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, was Gaspard de Coligny of Châtillon. His great grandson would be the King of England. Wounded in battle and later knighted, he became Colonel-General of the infantry. His brother Andelot, a recent Protestant convert, sent Coligny a devotional book that appeared to contribute to Coligny’s own conversion. Coligny’s efforts for toleration for the Huguenots (French Protestants) appeared to be rewarded in January 1562 with the Edict of Saint-Germain, however by August 24, 1572, he was assassinated.

The monument is in the Oratoire du Louvre, given by Napoleon to the Protestants to replace Saint-Louis-du-Louvre, the first Protestant church building in Paris, that was torn down for the expansion of the Louvre.