Duruflé was not always successful in obtaining the church posts he applied for. In 1928, the organist post at the church of Saint Vincent-de-Paul, in the tenth arrondissement, became vacant after the tenure of Alexandre Georges (1850–1938). In a letter dated March 3, 1929, Louis Vierne recommended to the archbishop of Paris that he consider as a candidate the twenty-seven year old Duruflé. “I would like, Your Eminence, to recommend still another of my pupils: Monsieur Maurice Duruflé, the winner of the premier prix in organ at the Conservatoire, and likewise an exceptional organist, is also a musician with special qualities … not only a gifted, charming, young artist of pure Catholic sensibility, but likewise … a person who commands his métier to the highest degree.” Duruflé was not named to the post, which went instead to René Kopp, suppléant to Alexandre Georges, who was deputy head of the department of accounting of the Compagnie du Nord.

Duruflé's success at being named to Saint Étienne-du-Mont, in 1929, may be hailed as something of a coup, by virtue of his still being a student, until we recall that Saint Étienne-du-Mont had little musical distinction at that time. Its grand orgue was in a deplorable state, its orgue de choeur was a tubular pneumatic, its choir was undistinguished, and the legacy of the church's titulars was no match for those at Notre-Dame, Sainte Clotilde, Saint Sulpice, the Madeleine, Saint Augustin, or La Trinité. But for a man with Duruflé's appreciation for architecture, the post was not without some personal satisfaction for him. Nevertheless, there could be no guarantee that Saint Étienne-du-Mont would interest him very far into the future.

So in 1937, having been the titular at Saint Étienne-du-Mont for some eight years, he sought the position at Notre-Dame after the death of Louis Vierne, and in 1939 he was a candidate at Sainte Clotilde, after the death of Tournemire. But in both instances the clergy, after being dissuaded from holding competitions, appointed other successors.