Berenger Saunire

Franois Berenger Saunire was born on April 11th, 1852 in Montazels.

He was the eldest of 7 children: 3 sons (Alfred, Martial, Joseph) and 3 daughters (Mathilde, Adeline, Marie-Louise). He was the son of Marguerite Hugues and Joseph Saunire (1823-1906), also called "cubi". His father had been the mayor of Montazels. He also managed the flour mill and he was the steward of Marquis de Cazermajous castle. His three sons studied a lot. Alfred became a priest; Joseph wanted to be a physician but he died at 25. Berenger was insolent, independent, fundamentalist. He rebeled against hierarchy. He was an athlete, with deep eyes. He went at school at St. Louis in Limoux. He entered the seminary in Carcasonne in 1874. He was ordained as a priest in June, 1879. He was a vicar in Alet from July 16th 1879 to 1882, a priest in the deanery of Clat (282 inhabitants) from June, 1882 to 1885. He was a teacher in the seminary in Narbonne but, because he was unsisciplined, he was appointed to Rennes le Chteau (298 inhabitants) on June 1st, 1885. He was anti-republican and he had to leave the diocese from December 1st to July, 1886 to give lessons once more in the seminary of Narbonne. As the villagers wanted him to come back, the prefect changed his mind and called him back. In May 1890, he also said mass in Antugnac on Sundays. At fifty he had a glass eye. He often played lottery (loterie de la maison des artistes) He had an ambiguous relationship with Marie Denarnaud. When he arrived, he lived with Maries family in the presbytery, but as he didnt get along very well with her mother, he left and lived in the building that he had built next to the churchyard. One can read in his diary, 4/19/1892 : came back from Carcassonne, drama on the evening, Marie came back home. 4/22/1892 : fine weather, Marie goes on bringing my meals. . He resigned on February 1st, 1909 and was no longer a priest in 1911. He was sued for trafficking in masses in 1915. He lived the rest of his life penniless, selling religious medals and rosaries to wounded soldiers who were stationed in Campagne les Bains. He was accused of taking in German spies. He had a attack on January 17th 1917, and he died on January 22nd. When he died, many books from his library were bought by the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, a British organization which also bought Father Hoffets library.

Montazels

Maison natale

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Characters

Sauniere Berenger

click image Asmodeus The Devil

click image Saunire Alfred Berangers brother

click image Denarneau Marie

click image Calve Emma

click image Boudet Henri Rennes les Bains Priest

click image Glis Antoine Coustaussa Priest murdered

click image Dujardin Beaumetz Etienne

Jean Salvator dAutriche

Beauvain de Beausejour Paul-Flix He was the bishop of Carsassonne in 1902

La Comtesse de Chambord

Labb Pons Father doesnt really belong to the story. He was appointed as a priest in Rennes le Chteau in 1836. He was a crook who asked money to accomplish miracles and to heal ill people. He was born in 1806

Billard Arsne Felix arsene Billard was born in st Valery en Caux on october 23rd 1829. Started teaching in the school Jom Lambert. Ordained as a priest on october 4th 1853. Appointed as a vicar in St Remy de Dieppe on June 29th 1858. Appointed as a vicar in st Patrice de Rouen on February 2nd 1860. Appointed as a vicar at the cathedral in Rouen on November 14th 1863. Appointed as a curate in Caudebec les Elbeuf on August 1868. Became a canon on January 1st 1877. Appointed in Carcassonne on February 17th 1881. Succeded Monseigneur Leullieux on July 25th 1881. Died on December 12th 1901

Hoffet Emile He spoke several langages, he was a scholar. He was a priest in the church of La Trinit, and a member of the documentation service of Vatican. He wrote a lot about freemasonry and rocicrucians. He published a magazine with the occultist Ren Gunon : REGNABIT

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The Story
1st Part
Marie dHautpoul and Father Bigou
Antoine Bigou had succeeded his uncle Jean as priest of Rennes le Chteau in 1774 . He was the confessor of marchioness of Hautpoul. It is said that she told him a very important family secret and gave him some documents just before she died. It is said that she asked him to tell the secret to another person who would understand its importance. Marie de Ngri Dables, Lady of Hautpoul died on January 17th 1781 and was buried in Rennes le Chateaus churchyard Bigou hid the documents in one of the pillar that held the altar in the church. In 1791, he laid a flagstone on the marchioness tomb. He had some strange signs carved on the tombstone : ET IN ARCADIA EGO :I who am also in Arcadia Moreover, as the lady died on January 17th 1781, the date on the grave should be MDCCLXXXI instead of MDC O LXXXI In the church, he had the Knights flagstone laid before the altar, but the sculpted side was facing the ground. He was considered a non-juring priest and he had to flee to Sabadell, Spain, where he died on March 21st 1794 after he had told the secret to Father Jean Vi (priest in Rennes les Bains) and to Father Emile Franois Cayron (priest in St Laurent de la Cabrerisse). Both men were priests of their towns

from 1840 to 1872 The signs on the tomb were erased by Sauniere , but we know of 2 reproductions of it. One was made by Eugne Cros( an amateur archeologist), the other by Eugne Stublein. On Stubleins drawing though, the greek letters ( et in arcadia ego) do not appear.

Come-Sourde Stone
This stone was found in the presbytery. It could be the stone of "Come Sourde", which had been found by Ernest Cros (one of Saunieres friend) in the mountain of Come Sourde. Enest Cros had left it in the presbytary. This stone bears marks, as if it had been hit by a chisel and hammer. It seems someone had wanted to erase what was written on it.

Ernest Cros had made a copy of it.

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2nd Part
Father Saunire
On june 1rst 1885, the clergyman Berenger Saunire was appointed priest of Rennes-le-Chteau. He succeded Father Antoine Croc who had himself succeeded Father Charles Eugene Mocquin. There, he found a ramshackle church. The village did not have enough money to restore it. As the presbytery needed repair, the priest had to live at Antoinette Marces for a while. The cost of the most urgent repairs was said to be about 2797 Francs (using the old gold value of the franc). Saunire had to leave the village for some time because of an anti-republican speech he made on october 4th 1885. He came back to Rennes-le-Chteau in july 1886. Thanks to a gift of 3000 F (gold value) from Marchioness of Chambord and 1400 F (or 2500 F) given by the local council, he was able to begin the restorations. He spent 518 F (gold value) of his own money. Some say he would have inherited this money from Father Pons. During the work, the workers found a hiding place in the ground. Later, they said there was a little cauldron filled with golden coins but Father Saunire told them they were only holy medals from Lourdes. The priest had the altar built over the hiding place. In 1886, he offered a vermeil chalice to Father Grassaud, priest of Amlie les bains. It still exists and it was dated 19th century Those who worked with Saunire are : - Marie Dnarnaud his servant - The building contractor, Elie Bot. - The bricklayers Pibouleau and Nazaire Babou. - The altar boys Rousset et Antoine Verdier In 1891, he asked the town council for the right to build a calvary before the church. In spring, Brenger Saunire began to work on the garden in front of the church. He brought stones from the country himself to build a grotto. He also build a calvary on which was written "Christus A. O. M. P. S. Defendit".

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3rd Part
A. O. M. P. S.

Many people wanted to see a connection with the priory of Sion in this sentence : Christ defends the Ancient Mystic Order of the Priory of Sion. CHRISTUS ANTIQUUS ORDO MYSTICUSQUE PRIORATUS SIONUS DEFENDIT This sentence is very well known by theologians and means : May Christ protect his people from all evil CRISTUS AB OMNI MALO POPULUM SUAM DEFENDIT He had a Visigothic pillar put the wrong way up before the church. The statue " Our lady of Lourdes " on the visigothic pillar was inaugurated on June 21th 1891. On the same day, the 24 children of the village made their communion. He organized a procession with the diocesan missionnary Father Ferrafiat(thats why it is written Mission 1891 on the pillar). He had the words " pnitence pnitence "(penance penance)carved on the pillar to recall the message of Lourdes " Kiss the Earth as a penance for sinners ". Old Calvary

New Calvary made by Alain Feral

There is a bench near the grotto. We can read an inscription : K X L S X

Two versions of what happened : 1) A few days later, the bellringer, Antoine Captier, found a flask in an old wooden baluster. The priest told him it contained relics. Actually, there were 3 scrolls wich bore Blanche de Castilles signature : a genealogic tree about Dagobert II and two coded texts taken from the Gospel.

2) In the Visigothic pillar, Father Saunire found 3 wooden tubes in which were 4 scrolls : The Gospel according to St john : the text in which Jesus visits Lazarus in Bethania Marthe and Mary of Magdala Verses of Luc (VI, 1-5), Matthieu (XII, 1-8) and Marc (II, 23-28) A genealogical tree about the unknow lineage of Dagobert II

According to the two versions, Saunire would have given a copy to the Mayor. The next day, he asked two workers to lift up a flagstone wich was in the church before the altar. It is called "The Knights flagstone". This stone had the sculpted side down to the ground. On it, one can see two knights riding the same horse. The workers thought it was a grave stone but the priest halted the work. He told his superiors about this and so he met Father Boudet and Father Glis. Saunire worked in his church late at night and he never let anyone come in. No one knows what he did there : some said he had found out a crypt, others that Marie Dnarnaud had found out what his secret was. . . The fact remains that he had a pavestone sealed on this gravestone. In his diary, under the date 09/21/1891 is written : "letter from Grans, a tomb discovered, rain in the evening". He stopped the work until October 14th 1891, the workmen were putting the pulpit in place. On 29/09/189, he wrote in his diary he had met the priest of Nevian Father Glis, Father Carriere and Father Cros. In his mail record, one can notice he received many letters from Father Glis, but none of these remain. On 4/10/189, he wrote that 4 "colleagues" had visited him. The Bishop of Carcassonne, Monseigneur Flix Billard, sent him to Paris for 5 days in order to have the scrolls deciphered. There he met Father Bieil, director of St Sulpice. his nephew had Father Saunire at his house. He also met Emile Hoffet, 20 years old who introduced him to literature (and also to the opera singer Emma Calvet). After the scrolls had been translated, Father Bieil (or Father Hoffet) did not give the genealogical tree back to Saunire. He brought back with him 3 copies of pictures: - "St Antoines Temptation" by D. Thniers - "the sheperds of Arcadia" by N. Poussin - a picture of Pope Celestin V Back to Rennes-le-Chteau, he had the work start again. For the works, he employed Marie Dnarnauds family, who lived in the presbytery . Marys brother and father worked in the factory in Esperaza as hatters. Her father from 1894 to 1907 and her brother from 1895 to 1909. The priest raised all the paving stones in the church during the night. Outside the church, he had the churchyard gate built and also a building above the citern next to the cemetary. On the graveyard gate was drawn a crane with 22 teeth.

Sauniere lived in the new building for a while so he was able to search through the cemetary at night. The mayor found him once, opening a grave with Marie. Some understood he was seen sifting the earth.

It was said he had erased words written on Marchionnes of Hautpouls tombstone. Saunire stopped his research, for the feared to be denounced to the prefect. The statues were put in place in early 1897. On june 6th 1897, the church was officially "opened" in the presence of Monseigneur Billard. From 1897 to 1899, Saunire often went away to unknow places. He also had walks in the area of Rennes-le-Chteau. He was followed by some inhabitants of the village who wondered where he was going. He walked towards Rennes les Bains, went throught the forest of " lhomme mort " (the dead man), jumped across the small stream of "La Blanque" and climbed up the hillside of "Serbarou" towards "la Pierre du Pain" (the stone of bread) on which it was said the Devil had left his finger prints. A few months later, it is said he was visited by Jean-Stphane of Hapsburg who was called Mr Guillaume by the villagers . It is supposed he offered 3000f (corresponding to the value of the time)to find precious documents hidden in the churchHe came back several times during 6 years and he gave Saunire 20 000F for his search ( which means 250 000F today). Go Back

4th Part
The Domain

Bethania Villa

Construction

Outside

Outside

Outside

1st Floor

1st Floor

2nd Floor

2nd Floor

2nd Floor

2nd Floor

Personal chapel under a veranda

Magdala Tower

Construction

In the 60s

A cave, inside the tower (above and below)

He also planted an orange grove and built a neo-gothic tower where he had his library (he had 10000 postal cards and 100000 stamps). It was called Magdala tower and it had 22 crenels.

In 1900, the priest bought 6 pieces of land, using the name of Marie Dnarnaud and began to build his "estate". The architect was Tiburce Caminade, the building contractor Elie Bot who had 17 workers under his orders, all of them were fed by Saunire. The stones were cut in St Sauveur and brought back on donkeys. First, Saunire had the villa "Bethania" built. He wanted it to become a retirement house for the priests of the diocese after his death.

In the garden, there were many exotic trees and animals : two dogs (Faust and Pomponet), 2 monkeys (Capri and Mora), peacocks, cockatoos, exotic fishes. . .

Some water went from a cistern to a fountain. There was a wonderful view of the area from the promenade.

The whole work lasted 8 years. If one looks at the map of the domain, one will see it looks exactly like Mary Magdalenes walk from Magdala to Bethania. Magdala tower represents Galilee and Bethania Mansion, Judaea. It is said that many famous people artists and politicians visited the priest (the Fine Arts State secretary Henri Charles Etienne Dujardin-Beaumetz, a freemason who belonged to the lodge called "La clmente amiti" - the merciful friendship). It is told Saunire entertained Stephen of Hasbourg would have given some money to the priest for his research. Father Saunire lived in splendour, he was corresponding with many famous people and banks and received important money orders. He was in contact with the Petitjean bank in Paris. He also had accounts in the Bank of Langudoc and Roussillon in Perpignan, in the Bank Pommier and Pavie in Toulouse. Grard de Sde said he had an account in Budapest (he consulted the accounts himself in 1971 when the bank didnt exist anymore). Anyhow, Saunires way of life began to worry the Bishopric who had heard many complaints about him from other priests in the area. Monseigneur de Beausjour, bishop of Carcassonne wanted to send him to Coustouges. Saunire refused to leave and resigned from his belonging to the Church. a new priest, Father Marty. He was appointed to Rennes on July 2nd 1909 and settled there on July 4th . He was appointed in Rivel in 1912. Villagers prefered attend Mass in Father Saunires private chapel. The altar was the original churchs altar. . On january 17th 1917, Saunire had an attack just before the Magdala Tower. He asked for Father Rivire, priest of Couiza. The confession was long and when Rivire went out the room, he was very pale. . . Saunire received the last Sacraments and 2 days later he died from a brain haemorrhage on january 22nd 1917. (Note : some people thought the way the villagers behaved was a mystery : they took away the bobbles from the blanket that covered the priests body. It was only a devotion act, and an ancient occitan tradition. )

Saunire died, leaving many plans behind him : he wanted to have a car , to have the road tarred and another tower built, to have a chapel in the graveyard, to rebuil Renne-le-Chteau walls. It is said he spent 659 413 F (gold value) or 23 079 455 todays francs.

When his testament was opened, everyone learnt he owned nothing. Everything belonged to Marie Dnarnaud. She lived alone until Nol Corbu bought her estate for life. Marie Dnarnaus and the Corbu family were good friends, so she made Nol Corbu her sole legater on 07/22/1946. After Maries death, Corbu opened a restaurant in the villa Bethania and he told the priests story. He recorded a tape and played it for the restaurants clients. He spoke the REAL facts but he also invented some of his own. He didnt earn much money and Mr Corbu died in a car crash in 1968. Saunires estate was bought by an occultist from Lyon: Henri Buthion who made very. . . " special " lectures. Todays, its owned by a SCI which opened another restaurant and offers lectures about different themes.

The Church
This church is dedicated to Mary de Magdala. It was consecrated in 1059.

Just before the door, under the Virgins statue Father Saunire had a Visighothic pillar put. This pillar originally hold the previous altar. The cross drawn on it is called the cross of silence(la croix du silence). What puzzled many people is that Saunire had it put the wrong way up. He had " Mission1891 " carved on it. It was the date of the end of restoration.

Mission 1891

Porch

On the gate are 2 sentences : " My home will be called House of prayers " " Terribilis est locus iste " :This place is terrible But they are not complete. They should be : - My home will be called House of Prayers, but you made it a thieves den . (Matthieu 21, 13) - This place is terrible, it is Gods home, the doorway to Heaven. (Genesis, 28, 17) "Please, remember I dont know the exact words of the English bible, I only translate whats said in the french one. " On the porchs keystone are the arms of Pope Lon 13(elected in1878 and dead on 20 July 1903 This work finished in 1897 and it is said that it costed 3 500 000 nowadays Francs. Saunire paid for the roof, the framework and the vault. There is a secret room in the sacristy. The statues, tympanums and bas relief were constructed by Mr. Giscard from Toulouse and the stained-glass windows by Mr. Feur from Bordeaux. There was a hiding place (built in the 13th century) under the belltower and the floor. Go Back

Inside the Church

On the ground of the church is drawn a chessboard of 64 squares oriented towards the four cardinal points. At the entrance of the church is a devil who is holding the stoup :He

is Asmodeus, the limping devil who guards King Solomons temple. The statues of angels are on a pedestal on which are carved 2 griffons, treasure keepers. They could also be 2 salamanders, Angouleme Counts symbol. Above him is written BS ; and higher are the statues of four angels. Under the angels one can read the sentence Emperor Constantin had seen in the sky :Par ce signe tu le vaincras :With this sign, you will vanquish him. (Of course this is about the sign of the cross. ) But the sentence Constentin saw was just : Par ce signe, tu vaincras. With this sign, you will vanquish :

Those 2 letters added to the original words raised many questions and many answers : Adding 2 letters makes the total of the letters 22. And we know that the crane on the cemetery gate has 22 teeth ; and also that Magdala tower has 22 crenels.

The L and E are the thirteenth and fourteenth letters, now the last of the Templar Knights Jacques de Molay was burnt in 1314 . The L is the twelfth letter of the alphabet and the e is the fifth. 12+5=17. The tarot card 17 is letoile (the star) like the star on the top of the church.

Mary Magdalene has been painted under the altar by father Saunire and father Courtauly. There was an inscription which has been erased by a vandal. It was : JESU MEDELA VULNERUM SPES UNA POENITENTIUM PER MAGDALENAE LACRYMAS PECCATA NOSTRA DILUAS "Jesus, you remedy against our pains and only hope for our repentance, it is thanks to Magdalenes tears that you wash our sins away. "

We know that Saunire as a priest had studied latin, but it seems there are some mistakes in this inscription, both in grammar and spelling(pOEnitientum should be PAEnitientum). This looks like a word to word translation. It would have been more correct like that : JESU VULNERUM MEDELA, PAENITENTIUM UNA SPES MAGDALENAE LACRYMAS PECCATA NOSTRA DILUAS

Pontius Pilate and his throne are just like King Solomon in Poussins picture, according to the description given in the bible.

The pulpit

The Knights flagstone

Confessional

This stone is mysterious. It can be seen in a book : Les pierres graves du Languedoc(The engraved stones in Languedoc) published in1884 under the name of Eugne Stublein (born in 1832 in Alet and dead in 1899 in Les Sauzils). It was princes Sigebert 4, Sigebert 5 and Bera 3 s tombstone. It was built in 771. On the reproduction, it looks better preserved than it really is. On it is drawn Sigebert 4s arrival when he was saved by his uncle Levis Bellisen on January 17th 681. In the book, there is also a drawing of the inscription engraved on Marchionness Hautpouls tombstone. The problem is: if one looks at Stubleins bibliography, one will find out he never published that book.
Haut-Relief

Come to me all of you who are overcome by pain, and I will ease your suffering.
The children have 18th century clothes. . .

Playing with light

- On 13 January (Christs baptisms day) :The first sunray falls on the Christ feet and moves upward on the statue. - On 17 January (St Antoines day) : A sunray falls upon the statue of St Antoine. - On 4 April :taking one week long, a sunray, passing through the

stained-glass window of Lazaruss resurrection, casts the shadow of Christ on the front wall, appears to Mary, falls down and then, disappears. - Holy Friday : A perfect triangle is cast through the stained-glass window where Christ teaches his apostles. - In winter, at twelve oclock (solar time) :An apple tree that bears 3 blue apples is cast through the southern stained-glass windows.

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Statues
All of the statues look at the ground. On the right of the altar, the Holy Virgin is holding a baby. On the left, Joseph is also holding a child. Two babies Jesus in one churchWe enter the theory of Jesus twin brother Behind the statue of St Antoine de Padoue is Sigebert 4s tomb. He was Dagobert 2s son. His grave was closed by the Knights flagstone. It would be in this tomb Saunire found golden coins dating from St Louis. It is said he would have found the grave thanks to Marchioness of Hautpoul tombstone.

Asmodeus

The original statue The statue nowadays

St Antoine

Ste Germaine

Ste Madeleine

St Antoine de Padoue

St Roch

St Jean Baptiste

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The way of the cross

14 Stations The Way of the Cross is in the opposite direction to the other churches.

Station 1

Station 2 A young man has fallen on his knees

Station 3

before a golden helmet. Jesus is wearing a red cape. A ladder is oriented towards the sky.

Station 4

Station 5

Station 6

Station 7 In the background, one can see Magdala tower through an open door

Station 8 A Frankish warrior takes the red cape away. A woman wearing a mourning veil and a child wearing a plaid. We know that Freemasons call themselves :The widows child. There is also a scottish rite in Freemasonry ;and also a blue grade.

Station 9

Station 10 A guard brandishes the red cape

Station 11 A man helps the Christ to carry his cross . A guard takes the red cape. In the background, one can see a ladder in the dark. Now, theorically, night falls only after Jesus s death.

Station 12

Station 13

Station 14 One must notice the wounded left side. The Golpel says the Christ was buried at night, now here its done during the day. We have 2 hypothesis : Jesus was buried during the day. This image represents the burials morrow and some people are stealing the corpse. . .

Village
Rennes le Chteau was previously called Rennes and Rennes les Bains was Bains de Rennes. In 1874, there were 492 inhabitants in Rennes les Bains, and 351 in Rennes le Chteau , and in 1885, there were 447 in Rennes le Bains and 298 in Rennes le Chteau. In 1879, the mayor was Mr Tuysseyre The castle that had belonged to Elizabeth de Rennes was sold by auction to Julie Avignon on

September 2nd 1816. This lady was married to Michel Captier who became the mayor of Rennes le Chteau in 1816. The castle was sold to the brothers Dalbis from Couiza. Position : 42 55 41 N - 2 15 45 E. Altitude 546m (?)

A bit of history
-50000 : traces of graves. -300 : Slight Celt occupation. Civilization of the Redones -121 : Roman occupation. Early 5th century, Visigoths. Rhdae was the capital of Septimanie, the county town of the diocese of Rhdnium. 725 : Saracen invasion. 771 : The church of Rennes was built. 1062 : Frank invasion. Rhdae as a royal city was at its peak :30000 inhabitants. 1067 : Rhdsium was sold to the House of Barcelona. 1130 : The earldom of Rhedae was joined to the earldom of Carcassonne, which belonged to the Trencavel family. 1170 : Alphonse 2 of Aragon attacked Rhdae. The Trencavel family only retained the town. 13th century : War between France and Occitanie. Simon of Montfort got Rhdae, and gave it to Pierre de Voisins. 1215-1360 : Rhdae became once again an important city, thanks to Pierre de Voisinss efforts. 1360 : Rhdae was attacked by " les routiers ", thiefs and brigands. 1361 : Plague epidemic. 1362 : The count of Trastamarre attacked Rhdae. The town was destroyed The earldom was then called "le Razs" and Rhdae, Rennes le Chteau. 1400 : The de Voisinss last daughter married a lord of Marquefave. 1422 : Blanche de Marquefave married Pierre-Raymond of Hautpoul, in her dowry was the barony of Rennes.

 1680 : Henri, baron of Hautpoul, took back the title of lord of Blanchefort. 1762 : The last of the Blancheforts died, his wife, Marie is left alone ( she was born as Negri Dables) 1781 : Marie dHautpoul, Marchionness of Blanchefort died. She was 67

Church street

Water Tower

A street

Underground Passage
Know for many years amongst the villagers, this underground passage was reopened in July 99 and could be used again. It is situated under the water tank near the castle.

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Surroundings

Devils armchair

Pontils Tomb - click image for report

The Raised Stone

Pech Bugarach

Blanchefort

La Pique de Lavaldieu

Roco Negro

Fontaine des Amours

Casteillas

Coustaussa

Pech Cardou

Salz Fountain

Report on Pontils Tomb Go Back

Scrolls

Warning Everything that follows about Saunires famous scrolls is only hypothesis and interpretations made from tracing papers which were supposed to be copies of the REAL documents. Theres no evidence to prove those scrolls did exist. On the other hand the testimonies of people who had lived next to Sauniere all agree : they never talked about scrolls. They told their story in the 60s and it was developed by the medias. We can quote Madame Leontine Marre, a contemporary of Sauniere: "They (the journalists) never write my words in their papers, they always write about scrolls found in the altars pillar, and I never talked about such a thing!"

The Coded Scrolls

This is an exclusive study Mr Gerard Papadimopoulos sent us and for which we thank him: The translation of whats left of the message (REDIS BLES SOLIS SACERDOTIBUS) is: The treasure of Rennes is for the initiated. Moreover we can notice if we draw a line across the page, starting on the cross on the right of the 4th ligne just before the word MANDU towards the 2nd cross on the 10th line and ending on the next to last N , we find the word SION. So it can be thought this message has a connection with the Priory of Sion. The signature at the bottom of the message is obviously the Priorys. The signature on the 2nd scroll is strange. At first sight it doesnt look like anything but if you reverse it, youll find once again SION. The letters A(reversed) and N have not revealed their meaning yet(a direction ?) but it seems theyre linked by a imperfect arrow. There are also very little signs . If we take those signs as letters and we follow the way theyre placed in the text, we get : REXMUNDI: REX MUNDI: King of the World. Is it a new key to understand a new message ? In the middle of the text , there is a capital A but all the other a are small. After this A, theres an (omega). So we have alpha and omega :the beginning and the end. Between those 2 signs, out of line letters write :ARETH. If we take the 7 other out of line letters up, we have: ADGENES , so it gives us : AD GENESARETH: towards Genesareth. The Genesareth lake or lake Tiberias (sea of Galilee) is very important in the New Testament. If we take the other out of line letters at the bottom, we obtain PANIS SAL :bread and salt. So we have a new key :Towards Genesareth, bread and salt. Saunire had given a tracing of the scrolls to the mayor of Rennes. But in the 1910s, the town hall was destroyed by fire , and the tracing burnt with the other papers. Some think another tracing was left in Paris when he brought them to translate them. Philippe de Chrisey gave it to Grard de Sde in February 1964. The first scroll was the smaller :

And so, one sabbat when he was walking across the fields, his disciples lifted corn ears to eat them, crushing them in their hands. Some Pharisee said : "Why do you do forbidden things on a sabbat day?" And Jesus answered: "Have you not read about what did David when he and his companions were hungry ?He entered the House of God, took the priests bread and shared it with his friends. And this bread was to be eaten only by priests. " And he was saying: "the Son of Man is master of sabbat " TN :Please, remember I have no English bible so these are not the rights words. Theyre a translation of the French one If one put all the letters which are out of line, onell find the sentence : A Dagobert 2, roi et Sion est ce trsor et il est la mort. (To king Dagobert 2 and Sion this treasure belongs and it is death) Or it can also be : A Dagobert roi et Sion est ce tresor, et il est l, mort. (To king Dagobert 2 and Sion this treasure belongs and it lies there/here, dead) Using the same technique, in the second scroll we find: BERGERE PAS DETENTATION QUE POUSSIN TENIERS GARDENT LA CLEF PAX681 PAR LA CROIS ET CE CHEVAL DE DIEU J4ACHEVE CE DAEMON DE GARDIEN A MIDI POMMES BLEUES.
click image to enlarge

A Midi Pommes Bleues (Blue Apples at Midday) Photo taken at 12:45pm in the church at Rennes le Chateau on 17 January 2005

(SHEPHERDESS NO TEMPTATION MAY POUSSIN AND TENIERS GUARD THE KEY PAX681 BY THE CROSS AND THIS GODS HORSE I FINISH THIS DEMON GUARDIAN OFF AT MIDDAY BLUE APPLES. )

Isnt this amazing ? ?

The Family Tree

9 Merovingian princes would have lived in the castle of Rennes : - Sigebert 4 know as " le Plantard " (the fiery son) (715771) - Sigebert 5(695-768) - Bera 3 known as " Trounko " (715-771) - Guillemon known as " Braou "( ? ? ?-773) - Bera 4 known as " le Bolo "(755-836)-He was the founder of Alet Abbey. - Bera 5 (794-860) - Hilderic 1 ( ? ? ?-867) - Sigebert 6 known as " Ursus " ( ? ? ?-884) It would have been kept by Father Hoffet and it would bear Blanche de Castilles royal seal . When he died, all his books and papers were bougth by the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers ". On July 2nd 1966 , the League wrote a letter to Mr Fatin , owner of the castle of Rennes and archeologist, about his castle and a copy of the scroll : " Historically, [ this castle is] the most important in France, because it was the refuge of Prince Sigebert 4 in 681, he was King Dagobert 2(St Dagobert). It was also the house of their descendants , counts of Rhdae and dukes of Razs " " This scroll was hidden in one of the three wooden rolls in the Visigothic pillar of Mary Magdalenes church in Rennes le Chteau. This scroll was left there in 1788-1789 by Father Bigou. Before this , it had been bound to Franois-Pierre, baron of Hautpoul of Rennes s testament which had been recorded by Captier , lawyer in Espraza, on November 1rst 1644. "

The Scrolls

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Hypotheses

 A treasure is hidden in 12 hiding places in Rennes les Bains and Rennes le Chteau area. This theory comes from the interpretation of Father Boudets book Scrolls about genealogy of France kings and Merovigians. . See "scrolls": the family tree A document raising doubts about the Gospel. Christ didnt die on the cross but he moved to Rennes with Mary Magdalene whom he married. He had a child with her and died peacefully in Rennes. The Cathars treasure The Philosophersstone The treasure of the Knight Templars A UFO base ? ? ? ? The treasure of the Visigoths This treasure was brought back to their capital :Toulouse, after Roma was sacked. Because of the Franks, Visigoths made Rhdae their capital and brought their treasure with them( ?)Roma treasure wasnt found in Toulouse. The Frank Frdgiaire checked it. As the Franks were invading the South, the Visigothsmoved to Tolede(Spain). Tolede was invaded by the Arabs and El Macin who counted the treasure didnt find any Roman treasure. Could it have been left in Rennes ? The Ark of the Covenant Pierre Silvain told us in his book that the Ark was hidden near Arques by the templars. Jesus Christs grave Two Englishmen think Jesus was buried in Rennes under Cardou Mount because according to them Cardou comes from Corpus Christi. In occitan (langue doc language) Cardou means chardons (thistle). Pierre Silvain told us tah the tomb of Christ is hidden under the white mine near the city of God (Aleth) Go Back

The Trial
Sauniere and the Bishopric
On January 15th 1909, Saunire received a letter from the vicar-general of Carcassonne s bishopric. With it were the official documents telling him he was appointed to Coustouges , where he was to go on February 1st 1909. After having thought, and following the neighbour priests s advices, Saunire sent his resignation on January 28th 1909. Monseigneur (his grace) de Beausjour accepted it on the condition that Saunire left Rennes le Chteau. The major wrote to the bishop to tell him the people was against his decision, and that the inhabitants would refuse the new priest, and not attend to his ceremonies. Rennes-le-Chteau, le 6 fvrier 1909 Le Maire de Rennes-le-Chteau Monsieur lEvque Carcassonne.

Monsieur, En rponse votre lettre du 31 janvier dernier, jai lhonneur de vous faire savoir que je regrette le maintien de la dcision prise lgard de M. labb Saunire. En ne donnant pas la dmarche que le Conseil municipal de Rennes-le-Chteau a faite auprs de vous, les suites que nous vous demandions vous et votre Conseil avez t mal inspirs. Nous nobtenons pas satisfaction ; tant pis ! Tant pis aussi que vous ayez retir M. Saunire ses pouvoirs. Quant lattitude de la population vis vis de M. le cur dEspraza et du successeur de M. Saunire, elle sera tout fait simple : lEglise dserte et les crmonies religieuses remplaces par les crmonies civiles. Vous voyez, Monsieur lEvque, que vous naurez pas vous armer contre nous des foudres de lEglise. Quant au presbytre, il est lou pour une dure de cinq ans, partir du 1er janvier 1907 labb Saunire. Mais je dois vous faire connatre quaprs lexpiration du bail et mme actuellement, sil devenait libre par suite du dpart du locataire actuel, le Conseil municipal se refuse formellement passer un nouveau bail avec le desservant que vous nous enverrez. Je vous prie, Monsieur lEvque, dagrer lassurance de ma considration trs distingue. Rennes-le-Chteau, le 6 fvrier 1909 Le Maire Saunire was summoned by the bishopric several times but he never went there, saying his health was bad. At last, he met the bishop on March 31st 1909. On July 2nd 1909, father Marty, priest of Coustaussa was appointed to Rennes le Chteau. He settled there on July 4th 1909. Saunire began to feel afraid; with the help of Father Le Vieux and a lawyer from Chalabre, he wrote rough copies of 2 agreements, dated of 3 months ago. They were to account for the sale of all of Saunires furniture and decorations to Marie Dnarnaud for 4 000 golden francs (140 000 current francs) ; and the sell of Maries lands and houses to Saunire for 12 000F (420 000F). Those figures do not look like those Saunire sent to the bishop Monseigneur Billard asked Saunire not to accept anymore money for masses from people outside the diocese. The priest began to be suspected of masses traffic Saunire promised but he received 2 letters from the vicar-general on December 18th and 22th to tell him a superior from the hopital Pierre Larousse in Paris had asked the bishopric if father Saunire could be trusted, because he had asked her to pay for masses. The priest denied , but later acknowledged he had done it honestly. Evch de Carcassonne, le 18 Dcembre 1909 Monsieur labb Saunire, La suprieure de lHpital St Joseph, rue Pierre-Larousse n. 7 Paris, a crit Monseigneur, pour lui demander, si elle pouvait vous envoyer des honoraires de Messe, en toute sret de conscience. Vous devinez la rponse qui lui a t faite : "Gardez-vous bien de continuer faire de pareils envois; parce que nous navons aucune confiance de la manire dont ce Prtre acquitte les intentions de Messes, quil se procure partout o il peut. " Monseigneur constate avec peine, que vous continuez demander des honoraires de Messes en dehors du Diocse. Et cependant vous aviez promis et protest que dsormais vous nen demanderiez jamais plus qu lui seul, personnellement. Voil comment vous tenez votre promesse.

Sa Grandeur se demande, si sa conscience ne lui fait pas un devoir de prendre des mesures efficaces pour faire cesser, une manire dagir si dplorable. Je vous offre mes sincres salutations. H. Rodire

Evch de Carcassonne Carcassonne, le 22 Dcembre 1909 Monsieur labb Saunire, Vous affirmez, que depuis la promesse que vous avez faite Mgr vous navez plus demand des honoraires de Messes la Suprieure de lHpital St Joseph, Paris. Or voici ce quelle nous crit, la date de 28 octobre dernier. . . "Pendant quil tait encore Rennes-le-Chteau, comme Cur, Mr labb Saunire stait adress moi, sans me connatre, (il avait eu mon adresse par quelquun), pour me demander si je pourrais lui procurer quelques honoraires de Messes. . . Il ma crit dernirement, quil tait maintenant Prtre en retraite, restant dans son ancienne Paroisse, et quil pourrait toujours acquitter les Messes, quon lui enverrait. Comme je nai pas lavantage de le connatre, je vous serai reconnaissante de me dire, si on peut en conscience, lui envoyer des honoraires de Messes. " Voil, deux affirmations, videmment contradictoires. Monseigneur vous sera reconnaissant, si vous voulez bien lui dire, quelle est celle, qui est conforme la vrit. Recevez Monsieur labb Saunire, mes sincres salutations. H. Rodire v. , g.

Evch de Carcassonne Carcassonne, le 12 mai 1910 Monsieur labb, Voici le texte de la rponse, que Mgr me charge de donner Mme Gabrielle Camus, faubourg des Vosges Mirecourt, qui demande si on peut vous envoyer des honoraires de Messes en toute confiance. M. . . "Gardez-vous bien denvoyer des honoraires de Messes Mr labb Saunire, ancien cur de Rennes-le-Chteau, et retir dans cette Paroisse, parce que Mgr lEvque na aucune confiance en la manire, dont ce Prtre acquitte ses obligations, sur ce point". Sa Grandeur voit avec peine, que vous ne tenez pas la promesse formelle, que vous lui avez faite, de ne vous adresser qu elle, quand vous seriez dpourvu dhonoraires. Recevez, Monsieur labb Saunire, mes sincres salutations. H. Rodire The topic of masses is dealt with in the section " synthesis " Saunire went too farOn May 27th 1910, Monseigneur de Beausjour began a trial to forbid Saunire to ask for mass fees outside the diocese.

On July 7th 1910, Saunire was summoned before the court. He did nothing until July 15th 1910 (one day before he must face the court); he sent a letter to say he wouldnt come because of his inability to defend himself, and the risks for his health. He added he didnt asked for mass fees outside the diocese. Rennes-le-Chteau, le 15 juillet 1910 Monseigneur Comme jai eu lhonneur de le dire Votre Grandeur dernirement, ainsi qu Monsieur le Vicaire gnral, pour les motifs que je vous ai exposs, je ne viendrai point demain samedi, 16 courant, devant le tribunal de lOfficial, non pas que je ne le veuille point, mais parce que je ne le puis. Pour paratre devant mes juges avec quelque chance de succs, comme my invite la citation du 7 juillet, il me faudrait dabord tre autoris faire connatre les noms des personnes qui mont donn les fonds ncessaires mes divers travaux, or cette autorisation je ne lai point. Il me faudrait ensuite le courage et lnergie ncessaire, la prsence desprit, le sang froid et surtout la facilit de mexprimer et je ne possde absolument rien de tout cela. Je sais bien ce que vous allez me dire : pourquoi ne pas prendre un avocat pour me reprsenter ? Oui tout cela est fort bien, mais qui choisir ne connaissant, parmi le clerg aucun membre apte ma dfense ? Et puis cet avocat en supposant que jeusse russi en trouver un susceptible dtre agr par le tribunal, vous aurait-il appris autre chose que ce que vous savez dj ? Non Enfin, comme je vous lai encore dit, les fortes motions, avec mon naturel impressionnable, tant excessivement contraires et nuisibles mon tat de sant, daprs les conseils et les ordres de mon mdecin, je dois tout prix les viter, si je ne veux pas mexposer aux pires catastrophes. Et maintenant quant la question des honoraires de messes, laissez moi vous redire, Monseigneur, que depuis votre dfense, , je nen ai plus demand, bien que certaines pices de mon dossier semblent prouver le contraire et que ma conscience nest pas aussi coupable que ce que vous paraissez croire. Avant de clore ces quelques lignes que jai cru bon de vous adresser, je demande Dieu de pardonner mes ennemis et tous ceux qui ont cherch me nuire et me faire du mal, et je le prie, en mme temps de maccorder la force ncessaire pour faire sa sainte volont et accepter en esprit de pnitence, ma condamnation quelle quelle soit. Daignez agrer, etc . . B. Saunire PS La maison que jai construite avec toutes ses dpendances, comme semble linsinuer un passage de la citation, na pas t difie pour menrichir et pour y couler mes jours dans le luxe et la mollesse, ma pense, Monseigneur, comme il y a quelques annes jai eu lhonneur de vous le communiquer, tait de vous loffrir pour une maison de retraite en faveur des prtres gs et infirmes - habitation confortable - chapelle, bibliothque, promenade, jardin, terrasses, bon air, splendide panorama, rien naurait manqu aux pauvres vieux, pas mme une place rserve dans le cimetire de la paroisse. Je persiste toujours dans mon ide premire, bien que le ciel semble aujourdhui se mettre en travers de mes projets et ne pas vouloir les agrer. Saunire did not come on July 16th 1910. He received then a peremptory convocation for July 23rd 1910, which he answered on July 20th , announcing that Father Molinier, the oldest inhabitant of Azilles , and Mr Mis, a lawyer in Limoux, would defend him. He asked for 8 more days to prepare his trial. As he got no answer, he sent another letter on July 22nd. On July 25th 1910, he received a letter telling his previous letters went to the Bishopric, and as the bishop was absent and could not read them. the court passed sentence :Saunire was taken away his right to be priest in the Carcassone diocese for one month

Jugement contre Brenger Saunire dfaillant. Nous Official du Diocse de Carcassonne, au nom de la Sainte Trinit et nayant en vue que la gloire de Dieu et le bien de lEglise. Attendu que M. labb Brenger Saunire cit premptoirement comparatre ce jour devant notre tribunal a fait dfaut et a t dclar contumace; Ou lacte daccusation de M. le promoteur reprochant M. labb Saunire le trafic des messes, la dsobissance son vque et des dpenses exagres et non justifies auxquelles semblent avoir t consacrs les honoraires des messes non acquittes. Aprs avoir pris lavis de messieurs les assesseurs, jugeant par dfaut, Condamnons M, labb Brenger Saunire une suspense a divinis pour le diocse de Carcassonne dune dure dun mois. de la sentence qui va vous tre faite je mets un dlai de 15 jours pour la rendre excutoire. Votre tout dvou en N. S G. Cantagril v. g This sentence weighed the priest down. He wrote to the bishop to tell him he had no way to be represented by his lawyers during the trial. On July31st , the bishop decided another trial would take place on August 23rd . As it was the dates of the judges holidays, it was reported to October 15th. This time, Saunire choses Father Huguet to be his lawyer (He was a canon, priest of Espiens par Nrac in the subdivision of Lot et Garonne, and a former teacher in the university of Paris). But he was sentenced to a retreat of 10 months in a monastery, although the court though mass traffic could not be really proved. The bishop asked Saunire to account for his expenses. The priest sent a report of the prices of his buildings : - Buying of three pieces of land 1 550 F - Restoration of the church 16 293 F - Calvary 11 200 F - Bethania mansion 90 000 F - Magdala Tower 40 000 F - Garden 19 050 F - In door decorations 5 000 F - Furnitures 10 000 F Which makes a total of 193 093F (Were using the gold value of the franc) Contrary to what has been said, This document isnt the letter Saunire sent to the bishop, but its rough copy. Currency equivalence table Buying of three pieces of land Restoration of the church Calvary Goldenfrancs 1 550 F 16 293 F 11 200 F

Current francs 54 250 F 570 255 F 392 000 F

Bethania mansion Magdala Tower Garden Indoor dcorations Furnitures

90 000 F 40 000 F 19 050 F 5 000 F 10 000 F --------------193 093 F

3 150 000 F 1 400 000 F 666 750 F 175 000 F 350 000 F ---------------------6 758 255 F

Obviously, those figures are wrong, Saunire pretended he spent more money than he really did. For instance, at that time, a castle and 380 hectares were 100 000 golden francs. Saunire appealed a second and last time, but it only added 3 months to the initial sentence , on December 5th 1911. He presented his case before the Vatican court, and Father Huguet went to Rome (using Saunires money). Monseigneur de Beausjour was ruled out of court, but as he had no intention to let himself be pushed around, Saunire is finally forbidden to do his job, which was decided on April 11th 1915. During the trial, he had had problems concerning money, and had had to mortgage one of his buildings for 6000 golden francs. Go Back

Documents
1967 - Cholets report 1905 - Elie Tisseyre Delmas manuscript (in french) Presbytery story (in french) Map of the area - 1893 Map of the area - 1866 Emma Calve, Superieur Inconnu Saunieres spendings Noel Corbus text Strange text from Abbe Bigou Marie de Negre dAbles Death certificate The lords of Renness tomb Archaeological research 1956 - Skull in the church

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Researches and Studies

About The Model Known as Saunieres Model The Stars of Davids in churches The Priest of Baulou The Grail in the RLC church Marie dHautpoul (in french) Asmodeus in Italy The manuscripts and the stained glasses PHI-lology of an acrostich Stenay and the Myth My Soul Is At Peace In Saint Sulpice The reversed N Saint Sulpice at Paris The bishoprics publications in the time of Monseigneur Billard The calvary of Antugnac The Calvary of Villemoustaussou Segovia (Spain) Berenger Saunieres tomb Sarcophagus in Montsaunes Church Catechism book Elisabeth Raynauds tomb IHS monogram (in french) Elise Caychets tomb Rennes-le-Chateaus church bell