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

the Story - 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(that’s why it is written Mission 1891 on the pillar).He had the words " pénitence pénitence "(penance penance)carved on the pillar to recall the message of Lourdes " Kiss the Earth as a penance for sinners ".

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 Castille's signature : a genealogic tree about Dagobert II and two coded texts taken from the Gospel.

2) In the Visigothic pillar, Father Saunière 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.

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 Gélis. Saunière 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 Dénarnaud 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 Granès, a tomb discovered, rain in the evening". He stopped the work until October 14^th 1891,the workmen were putting the pulpit in place.

On 29/09/1891,he wrote in his diary he had met the priest of Nevian Father Gélis,Father Carriere and Father Cros.

In his mail record, one can notice he received many letters from Father Gélis,but none of these remain.

On 4/10/1891,he wrote that 4 "colleagues" had visited him.

The Bishop of Carcassonne, Monseigneur Félix 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 Saunière 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 Saunière. He brought back with him 3 copies of pictures :
- "St Antoine's Temptation" by D.Théniers.
- "the sheperds of Arcadia" by N.Poussin.
- a picture of Pope Celestin V.

Back to Rennes-le-Château, he had the work start again. For the works,he employed Marie Dénarnaud’s family,who lived in the presbytery .Mary’s 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 Hautpoul's tombstone. Saunière 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, Saunière often went away to unknow places. He also had walks in the area of Rennes-le-Château. 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 " l'homme mort " (the dead man), jumped across the small stream of "La Blanque" and climbed up the hillside of "Serbaïrou" 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-Stéphane 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 church…He came back several times during 6 years and he gave Saunière 20 000F for his search ( which means 250 000F today).

1900, the domain