After years of growth in the 19th century, the size of the French community of New York began to decline about the beginning of the 20th. The trades and industries which had employed so many of them began to move out of New York. Prohibition, when it came, dealt a severe blow to the French restaurant business. For the first time, immigration from Europe was greatly restricted by new immigration quotas. As during the time of Louis Rou, over 150 years previously, the children of the French-speaking immigrants assimilated rapidly, married outside the French community, and joined English-speaking churches. Mr. Wittmeyer did what he could, but inevitably, the parish suffered from these trends.

Alfred Wittmeyer retired in 1925, a year before his death. He was succeeded by Jean A. F. Maynard, a native of Bergerac in the Dordogne region of France. He was educated in Paris where he was ordained in the French Methodist Church and, for a time, he was a missionary in Africa. While there, he was ordained a deacon in the Anglican church. His lifelong passion was the study of ancient and modern Near-Eastern languages. An opportunity to teach and do research in this field brought him to Chicago for a year, then to New York in 1915. While teaching in New York he preached on a number of occasions at Saint-Esprit and assisted Mr. Wittmeyer from time to time so, when he was called as rector in 1925, he was already known to the parish. He inherited a difficult situation. The congregation had become too small to maintain the church building on 27th Street. It was decided to sell the property and build a smaller church. The church was sold in 1926 and the congregation moved to the auditorium of the French Institute on East 60th Street for its worship services for what was expected to be a short time. The rector and vestry, hoping to raise all necessary funds before they bought property or started building, did not move fast enough and their efforts to raise the money were stopped short by the Depression. After five years of meeting in the auditorium the parish was able to rent, on a temporary basis, a townhouse at 114 East 76th Street which served as a chapel and meeting place until 1934 when the parish moved into an unused Methodist church at 229 East 61st Street. This church, although in need of repairs and expensive to maintain, served the parish for seven years until it was sold by its owners to make way for an apartment building.

Once again, the parish was faced with having to look for a home. A search was begun and after some time, a former school at 109 East 60th Street was located which was for sale. Again, a fund raising campaign was undertaken; this time, with the improved national economy, it produced much better results. Saint-Esprit bought the building in 1941. By making extensive changes to the ground floor level, a small chapel, seating about 70 people, was created. The pews, altar, lectern, and memorial tablets from previous churches were taken out of storage and provided a historical continuity in the new setting. A French school was established on the upper floors. By another stroke of luck, three years later the parish was able to buy the adjoining brownstone at 111 East 60th Street for a very reasonable price. This building provided rooms for a clergy residence, a Sunday school, and a Huguenot Museum which functioned until 1976 when its contents were transferred to larger facilities at the restored Huguenot village of New Paltz, New York.

Dr. Maynard's ministry at Saint-Esprit lasted for 35 years. In addition to his renown in the study of Near-Eastern languages, and his untiring efforts to find a permanent home for the parish, he was active in efforts aiding the liberation of France during the Second World War. During the last years of his ministry, he was assisted by Dr. Rene Vaillant, a native of Lille, and a professor of French at New York University. Dr. Vaillant studied theology in New York and was ordained by Bishop Horace W. B. Donegan. When Dr. Maynard retired in 1956 at the age of 72 years, he was succeeded by Dr. Vaillant.

Rene Vaillant was rector for 20 years. Also, like his predecessor, he was active in the affairs of the French community of New York. He had a charming, kindly manner and his ability to win people over became almost legendary. However, the last years of his ministry were a difficult period for Saint-Esprit. Dr. Vaillant was in his mid-sixties when he became rector. He soon reached mandatory retirement age and followed the usual practice of contacting the Protestant churches of France and Switzerland to find a successor. However, by this time the canon laws concerning ordination of the Episcopal Church had become much stricter. It was no longer possible for a candidate to be more or less automatically ordained in order to become rector of Saint-Esprit as had been the practice in the 19th century. No candidate from France or Switzerland was willing to spend the years of study in an Episcopal seminary that would have been necessary for Episcopalian ordination. While the search was going on, Dr. Vaillant's wife Pauline became seriously ill and he moved her to North Carolina in order to be near their son. In his absence, Dr. Alphonse Chaurize conducted services. After several years, the Bishop of New York, Dr. Paul Moore, felt strongly that a successor to Dr. Vaillant must be chosen as soon as possible. The vestry was reorganized under the leadership of Theodore Whitmarsh, the new Senior Warden. Clergymen with a knowledge of the French-speaking world were approached for suggestions. The name of Thomas Wile came up. He was an American Episcopal clergyman who had served for several years on the staff of the American Cathedral in Paris and who spoke French. At the time, he was a student in New York. He was called by the vestry, he accepted, and he began his ministry in January, 1977. Mr Wile was the first rector of Saint-Esprit not born in Europe and, with the possible exception of Leon Pons, the first to have been ordained to the Episcopal priesthood prior to his association with the parish.

In 1978, the French Church of Saint-Esprit celebrated its 350th anniversary. Bishop Moore made an official visitation and presided at the celebration of Holy Communion. A number of projects have strengthened the life of the parish. Improvements have been made to the interior of the chapel. The liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer, in French, is still celebrated each Sunday morning. French hymns are sung, many of them the same ones sung by the Huguenots of Saint-Esprit over 300 years ago. On the walls of the chapel are the coats of arms of many of the leading Huguenot families, a constant reminder to present-day worshippers of their heritage. Behind the altar, in stained glass, is the Huguenot cross as well as the seal of the Huguenot Society. The beautiful silver chalice, pattern, tankard, and baptismal bowl, given to the parish at the beginning of the 19th century, are still used at festival services. The present congregation is composed of French Protestants who live in New York, Americans who love the French language, and parishioners of Huguenot descent who find it meaningful to worship in the church of their ancestors. Once a year, on the Sunday closest to April 15th, the day that the Edict of Nantes was promulgated in 1598, Huguenot descendants from all over the greater New York area gather with the regular congregation to worship as their ancestors did, to sing the hymns that they sang, and to honor the faith and courage of their forefathers. The presence of these people, from all walks of life, is a living testimonial not only to the mighty contribution of the Huguenot refugees who came to these shores but also to the longevity and ongoing witness of their church which continues to proclaim and to keep alive the faith of its founders.