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Rennes-le-Château Church Inscriptions Paul Smith NON ROMAN CATHOLIC researchers interested in the bogus “mystery” of Rennes-le-Château have spent considerable time and effort formulating unnecessary theories and hypotheses about the inscriptions found in the village church dedicated to St Mary Magdalene – because the inscriptions that Abbé Bérenger Saunière placed in his church which he renovated between 1886-1897 (a period of 11 years) are representative of typical Roman Catholic devotion found all over France. Terribilis est locus iste
The favourite inscription that all believers in the “mystery” like to draw attention to – it is in fact taken from the Entrance Antiphon for the Common Dedication of a Church – and is found on Roman Catholic churches all over Europe. The Latin version of the text in full would read Terribilis est locus iste: hic domus Dei est et porta coeli: et vocabitur aula Dei.
Terribilis est locus iste is found
inscribed directly above the doors to the church. Saunière placed the inscription Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur beneath what at first sight looks like a highly obscure Latin inscription that reads: Regnum mundi et omnem ornatum soeculi contempsi propter amorem domini mei Jesu Christi quem vidi quem amavi in quem credidi quem dilexi That can be translated as: “I have scorned the Kingdom of the World and all the Distinction of the Human Sphere for the Love of my Lord Jesus Christ whom I have seen, whom I have Loved, in whom I have Believed whom I have adored.” This inscription proves to be very common in the history of the Roman Catholic Church and comes from a wide variety of different sources – mediaeval chants, motets, Nocturns, songs, 15th century annotations found in Bibles, and so on – making it impossible to determine what source inspired Bérenger Saunière to choose this particular Latin phrase. The words form the lyrics to a song Regnum Mundi that became highly popular composed by Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594), published in 1573; the same quote exists in the “Cronica” of Salimbene de Adam (d. ca.1287); the words could be a corrupt rendering from Robert Grosseteste's Dicta, no. 108, p. 90rb – that read, Regnum mundi et omnem ornatum seculi contempsistis propter amorem Domini nostri Iesu Christi, quem vidistis, quem amastis, quem credidistis, quem dilexistis [Robert Grosseteste 1175 – 1253]. Saunière completed the renovations to his Church by 1897 and marked the event by erecting a Calvary on the Feast of Pentecost for the re-dedication of his church on 6 June – bearing the inscriptions “Christus Vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus Imperat, Christus AOMPS Defendit” and “Aimons Saluons Respectons Notre Croix” – showing that Saunière had modelled his Calvary on the obelisk of Pope Sixtus V in Rome – that also bears the same inscriptions and which is in fact dedicated to the Holy Cross (topped by a bronze cross containing a fragment of the true Cross). This emphasis by Bérenger Saunière on the Cross can be seen at the Church Entrance where the statue of St Mary Magdalene is depicted holding a Crucifix beneath the inscription, “In Hoc Signo Vinces” (By This Sign, Conquer) – a Latin phrase originating with the Emperor Constantine’s crucial victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD312 that paved the way for converting the Roman Empire to Christianity – it was Constantine’s mother, Helena, who later claimed to have discovered the True Cross. “In Hoc Signo, Vinces” has been adopted by all manner of Roman Catholic Groups and Movements the world over – from organisers of Pilgrimages to the followers of the late Monsignor Marcel Lefebvre – and the Latin phrase during Saunière’s period at Rennes-le-Château was adopted by the followers of the Comte de Chambord (who died in 1883) and who wanted to restore the Legitimist (Bourbon) line of French kings, refusing to recognise the Comte de Paris – they called themselves ‘Blancs d’Espagne’ because they considered the House of Bourbon-Anjou as the heir, by the Salic Law, to the Throne of France. The Legitimists regarded the Republic as the Devil. Jules Delmas edited a journal ‘Le Droit monarchique: un journal légitimiste et traditionaliste’ devoted to their cause between 1883-1884. The statue of the Devil holding-up the Holy Water Stoup by the entrance of Saunière’s church may be rare, but is not unknown with similar examples existing in other Roman Catholic churches – again there is the reference to the Sign of the Cross – each member of the congregation dips their finger as they enter into the church into the Holy Water Stoup as making the Sign of the Cross – and the writing on the Holy Water Stoup gives a revised emphasis: “Par Ce Signe Tu Le Vaincras” which translates as: “By This Sign You Will Conquer Him” – the Devil is vanquished by every member of the congregation who makes the Sign of the Cross when entering the church. A lot of unnecessary theorising and speculation has been made about the statue of the Devil holding-up the Holy Water Stoup – during Saunière’s time there was a French saying: “The devil lived quietly in his holy water stoup”; the idea itself dates back literally centuries. Tertullian wrote “The devil who till now ruled over us, we leave behind overwhelmed in the water”; the The Book of St Cyprian states “The Devil does not tear down crosses. He is in the fonts of holy water in the church to distract us.” Likewise, in The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose, when explaining Holy Water: “according to the Roman Catholics, having the virtue to chase away the Devil and his imps.” Why Bérenger Saunière placed so much emphasis upon the Cross and what it meant may be explained by historical context – Saunière was a French Nationalist (that much can be gleaned from reading his sermons and catechisms); most probably a supporter of the restoration of the French Monarchy (whereby the Legitimist Cause would have been regarded as the ‘pure cause’ for him); Saunière had been temporarily suspended from his priestly duties just after arriving at Rennes-le-Château in 1886 for preaching anti-Republican sermons from his pulpit – and had gained considerable income between 1896–1905 from trafficking in masses following the establishment of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in the village in 1891 – and Lourdes once was the symbol of the restoration of the Bourbon Monarchy. All of this happened during the crucial period of time between 1886-1905 that resulted in the split between Church and State in France in 1905 – usually described as the continuation of the French Revolution. The emphasis upon the Cross by the Abbé Bérenger Saunière at Rennes-le-Château signified a Crusade – an Anti-Republican Crusade that resulted in tragic consequences for its village priest. |
