When Berengier Saunier was appointed priest of Rennes-le-Chateau the village and church were in a state of disrepair.
The tourist leaflet has the following to say about this little church of Dan Brown’s, Da Vinci Code fame:
In 1885 an unusual young priest arrived in the village, Berenger Sauniere. Over the next few years he created a magnificent estate, today known as Sauniere’s Domain, comprising the Villa Bethany, the Magdala Tower and a glazed orangery set in formal gardens. He also renovated the modest church of St Mary Magdalene in a highly original fashion. How was he able to afford such a lavish construction programme? The enigmatic priest lived the high life and spent a fortune. It was rumoured that he had found a treasure…
In the 1960s, treasure hunters began trying to uncover the secret of Father Sauniere. Books were published (today running into the hundreds) and excavations launched. The decoration of the church attracted particular interest, with some considering it to carry a coded message… The treasure hunters next turned their attention to Sauniere’s Domain, on the look-out for the tiniest clue…
Did Father Sauniere leave behind him a set of hidden signs leading to a fabulous treasure? The mystery remains to be solved.
It is reputed that on his arrival Berenger Sauniere discovered a parchment in a glass phial and soon after that Sauniere was discovered digging in the local cemetery:
During the repairs in 1891, Sauniere supposedly found, somewhere in or around a pillar carved with Visigothic ‘Cross of Silence’, a parchement in a glass phial. Not long after, Sauniere was spotted digging futively in the local cemetery. One of his activities was the systematic defacement of the inscription on the tomb of the last Lady of Rennes-le-Chateau, Hautpoul de Blanchefort (d. 1781), not knowing that someone had already copied it out in the early 1820s (it had Greek letters reading ‘Et in Arcadia ego‘). Hautpoul, who died without heirs, had in her last hours of life confided some great secret to the parish priest, who left the enigmatic epitaph on her tomb.
After his nocturnal digs, Sauniere asked the Louvre for a copy of Poussin’s painting, then began spending money like nobody’s business (an estimated 2.5 million euro) paving the road up to Rennes, and redoing the church, dedicated (naturally) to Mary Magdalene, in a style the French have labelled ‘St-Sulpicien’ after the garish church in Paris.
Over the door he wrote Terribillis est locus iste (‘This is a terrible – or awesome – place’) – along with, around the arches below the rest of the inscription, hic domus Dei est et porta coeli (‘This is God’s house and the gate of heaven’), all part of the traditional entrance antiphon for the dedication of a church, and not a secret message.*
Sauniere’s activities eventually got him into trouble due to the unorthodox demonic figure that supports the font. Despite the statue’s appearance the figure is not Satan, the figure represents Asmodeus the guardian of the treasure of Solomon. Sauniere was eventually suspended from the priesthood due to his unwillingness to account for the source of his money…
There are many websites dedicated to the mysteries, so if you are curious a quick search in Google will inundate you with information.
*Quoted from the Languedoc-Ruossillon Cadogan guide.
This was a fantastic set of beautiful photos Cherie… and a lot of very good history of Berengier Saunier’s less than Christian habits… what a story!!!… thanks for the research on this beautiful chapel dedicated to Ste-Marie-Madaleine….peter:)
I am glad you enjoyed the story, I tried to be brief
The place is very interesting to visit and the views across the Aude valley are breathtaking.
This would fit right in with the DaVinci Code movies, Cherry, wouldn’t it.
I haven’t seen the movies but I have read the first book. Yes very fitting
My goodness – it’s pure film script.
And there’s more James
It’san interesting story… although the truth is far more mundane
It would actually be interesting to know the truth about the priest
He made a kiling “selling masses” A Catholic priest can accept payment for saying a mass for someone’s personal intentions (eg for someone who is ill etc) Sauniere turned this into an industry accepting money for hundreds of masses most of which he never said. He was in trouble several times for this scam
I had no idea that a Catholic priest could ask for payment for saying masses…
Following the thought through, I suppose the real problem was that he kept the money himself and did not pass it onto the Church!!
Love those old waterspots!
There were many of them in this region of France and they all fascinated me
Hello, I am back.
Had a great time in Matera!
It’s such a beautiful place – you should visit it too.
I am glad you had a great time, I am looking forward to seeing your photographs
I’ve enjoyed your France trip very much. Interesting story. Priests still get money for saying masses for the souls of the deceased languishing in Purgatory, or for other requests. A priest can say only one mass a day. So none will get rich that way. Of course if they multiply the names of people prayed for, and get paid for each one, it could become very lucrative. I always preferred to put money in the collection plate or to light candles. Great photos, as always, Cherie.
I am glad you are enjoying my France trip and thank you
I didn’t realise they got paid let alone still got paid. Like you I find it much better to put money on the collection plate and I always light a candle when I visit a church.