Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine designed the Chapelle expiatoire in 1816, and his assistant Louis-Hippolyte Lebas oversaw the construction. King Louis XVIII and the Duchess of Angoulême shared the cost. It was built on the former Madeleine Cemetery, where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had been buried after their execution. Their remains are now in the Basilica of Saint-Denis.
The article calls it an uncompromising late Neoclassical religious building. It is 168 feet (51 meters) long and 93.5 feet (28.5 meters) wide, with a Greek-cross plan and a Doric facade. White marble sculptures of the king and queen are inside.
It was consecrated on January 21, 1824, and inaugurated in 1826. It became a historic monument in 1914, and a commemorative mass is held each year.
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