Carcassonne, 1 February 1911

This announcement was also published in La Croix dated 9 February 1911, also reprinted in the anticlerical newspapers Le Rappel and Le XIXè Siècle on 11 February 1911, with the additional comment: “So, ‘Let's run off with the money!’ eh? [Sauvons la caisse was a catchphrase used by street entertainers in 19th century France]. Abbé Saunière is obviously selling his services far too cheaply by offering such a large discount and so, due to the unfair competition he's offering, he's being boycotted by the ‘traders’ association’ of the priests of his part of France”

18 February, and 9 March: The Carcassonne Bishopric made a formal command to Saunière to present his accounts to the Bishop of Carcassonne by 2 March at the latest. The Bishop of Carcassonne appointed a Commission of Enquiry under the direction of the Vicar General, Jean Saglio, charged with the detailed examination of Saunière’s accounts

13 March: Bérenger Saunière submitted 61 Invoices to the Bishopric to account for his expenditure, claiming that he had lost the rest, and that in any case he did not possess records for longer than two years

25 March: Saunière submitted an explanation of the source of his finances since arriving at Rennes-le-Château, together with a ‘List of Donors’ producing a figure of 193,150 Francs

8 April: Bérenger Saunière’s letter to the Carcassonne Bishopric protesting “You are aware of Rome’s first decision. Does it refer anywhere to the keeping of accounts? Not at all”

14 July: Saunière submitted a ‘Statement of Expenditure’ claiming the renovation of his church and the building of his Estate had cost 193,050 Francs (alleging the Villa Bethanie cost 90,000 Francs, the Tour Magdala 40,000 Francs)

August: Bérenger Saunière goes on a Pilgrimage to Lourdes

4 October: The Saglio Commission of Enquiry submitted its Report, stating that only 36,000 francs could be accounted for out of the 193,000 francs that Bérenger Saunière claimed to have spent on his various works (his original Defence draft claimed only 71,600 francs), also referring to the discovery of a receipt dated 8 July 1902 of the sum of 412.50 francs for furnishing and the roofing of the Villa Bethanie

21 November: The Third Hearing, Saunière and his Defence Lawyer Dr Huguet did not attend, adjourned until 5 December

27 November: Bérenger Saunière negotiates with the Parisian Banque Petitjean over the sale of his Estate

5 December: The Third Hearing – Saunière and his Defence Lawyer Dr Huguet not attending again – the Sentence of the Court was carried out in their absence:

“We condemn the priest Abbé Bérenger Saunière to a suspension a divinis for a period of three months, effective from the day of the notification of the present sentence, which suspension in any case will continue until he has undertaken the restitution into the hands of the rightful owner and according to canon law of the goods misappropriated by him”

The three month suspension from priestly duties levelled against Bérenger Saunière on 5 December 1911 was to last a lifetime, since the priest was unable to fulfill the obligation of “the restitution into the hands of the rightful owner and according to canon law of the goods misappropriated by him” – an article published in La Semaine Religieuse de Carcassonne dated July 1915 reminded the local parishioners of his suspension from the priesthood and a letter to Saunière dated 22 January 1917 – the date of his death – from his Defence Lawyer Canon Huguet, referred to an offer made in August 1916 by the Bishop that the suspension would be lifted only if he were to accept the position of priesthood in another parish

At no stage during the entire Trial did Bérenger Saunière ever show his Account Books to the Court of the Bishopric – instead he produced a bogus “List of Donors” that only served as an evasive tactic in order to hide his guilt of the Charge of Trafficking in Masses that was levelled against him.

5 February: Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Notre Dame de Marceille decreed a Minor Basilica

14 June: Letter to Bérenger Saunière, who placed his Estate up for sale through the Parisian Banque Petitjean

August: Bérenger Saunière goes on a Pilgrimage to Lourdes

The Crédit Foncier de France offered Bérenger Saunière a 6,000 Francs loan, having valued the priest’s Estate at 18,000 Francs, after he had asked it for a loan to clear his debts

August: Bérenger Saunière goes on a Pilgrimage to Lourdes

Republicans 475 seats; Right 120 seats (dont Fédération rép. 37; Action liberté 23; divers droite 15; non inscrits 45)

7 January: Furniture Dealer Gme Noubel presses Bérenger Saunière over his debts: “On checking your account balance I note that you still owe me 6,037 francs, not including interest, for furniture mostly supplied to you in 1908. As we have to come to some sort of conclusion regarding this matter, I am asking you to settle this outstanding balance. Should you not be able to pay me the whole amount I would ask you to agree to me taking out a lien on your property. That would not cause you any inconvenience and I myself would feel much happier about things. On these terms you could then take the time you needed to settle the bill, paying me interest half-yearly at the customary rate of 5%. I look forward to hearing from you”

May: Bérenger Saunière plans to build a summer house – but gave up on the idea at the end of 1915 because the price was too high: 2,500 francs

20 August: Pope Pius X died

3 September: Pope Benedict XV (to 1922)

La Semaine Religieuse de Carcassonne, 3 July 1915

“It is for the Diocesian administration of Carcassonne a great regret, but a great duty to inform the faithful of the district that abbé Saunière, former vicar of Rennes-le-Château, still resident of the same place, was officially divested of his sacerdotal duties on 5 December 1911, that he is no longer entitled to celebrate the Mass or to take part in the Ceremony to which he was once entrusted”

October: Bérenger Saunière goes on a Pilgrimage to Lourdes

Bérenger Saunière enjoyed a second period of success at selling masses – although not as successful as during the first period of 1896-1905– France was at War and the priest received requests for masses from neighbouring dioceses, despite his suspension

Letter by Canon Huguet to Bérenger Saunière, dated 22 January 1917 (extract):

“In the interview which you had with the ‘potentate’ (Bishop of Carcassonne) in August (1916) he suggested that you leave Rennes-le-Château and that he instead offer you a post nearer the seat of the Diocese; refusal to agree to this would result in you being banned in perpetuity”

22 January: Bérenger Saunière died: his suspension only lifted in articulo mortis (“at the moment of death”). The Last Rites were administered by Abbé Jean Rivière (1867-1929), the curé of Espéraza. Saunière was not described as a priest in the Obituary column of Semaine Religieuse de Carcassonne dated 27 January. Marie Dénarnaud could not afford to pay for his coffin until 12 June 1917. Claims that Bérenger Saunière was immensely rich in 1917 and had ambitions to undertake another building project were the inventions of Noël Corbu of the 1950s

23 January: Death Certificate of Bérenger Saunière

24 January: Bérenger Saunière buried at 10 o’clock in the morning

25 March: Town Council of Rennes-le-Château approves the rental of the village Presbytery to Marie Dénarnaud from 15 April, in her own name, for the next nine years

15 April: Marie Dénarnaud borrows money for the first time – 1,100 francs to pay interest on a loan from the Crédit Foncier de France and to pay off some outstanding bills

10 May: Abbé Eugène Grassaud informs Marie Dénarnaud about the arrival of a potential buyer for Saunière’s Estate. He advises to sell it for 200,000 francs – down if necessary to 190,000 francs

October: The legal succession of Bérenger Saunière is finally settled by a Certificate of Insolvency due to an absence of assets. The Saunière family will therefore inherit nothing

Joseph Dalbies, Mayor of Rennes-le-Château 1919-1924

Marie Dénarnaud owes 3,638 francs to the person who lent her 1,100 francs in 1918, informing them that she is unable to pay

6 February: Pope Pius XI (to 1939)

Marie Dénarnaud takes as her lodger the new village schoolteacher, since the commune does not have the financial resources to accommodate her elsewhere. The young schoolteacher, who is in her first teaching post, will remain there until her departure from Rennes-le-Château in 1929. Her successors as the village schoolteacher will be similarly lodged, in return for payment, at the Presbytery, the last of them from 1949 to 1954

The Testimony of René Espeut (1911-1978) from Perpignan:

“...I would like to state that the Abbé Saunière never found any treasure. You see, I was actually born in Espéraza. My family knew the Dénarnaud family. In 1925, when I was 14 years old, I used to go up regularly to Rennes-le-Château. I used to go and see Marie Dénarnaud. She was living in rather pitiable circumstances. I did my harmony lessons on the organs in the salon, which have now disappeared. In the library of the Tour Magdala, I read all the correspondence of the priest with his ecclesiastical lawyer at the time of his trial at the court of Rome. It was by collecting money for saying masses that the Abbé Saunière was able to construct his estate. He published small ads in the Catholic press throughout the world. I was able to read their texts, and I have seen thousands of replies. I would also like to state that, between the ages of 15 and 20, I thoroughly searched the area within a 500-metre radius of the Villa and the Tour Magdala. I never found the slightest evidence of a hidden treasure. I am telling you this out of respect for the truth...” (Midi Libre, 13 February, 1973)

François Pechou, Mayor of Rennes-le-Château 1925-1935

Article by Henri Guy entitled ‘Reproduction of a Carolingian Gravestone discovered in Rennes-le-Château’ published in Bulletin de la Société d’Ètudes Scientifiques de l’Aude (Volume 31, page 197) describing the discovery of a Carolingian Gravestone beneath the Altar of the church in Rennes-le-Château in 1884-1885, and how it was situated in a garden before the cemetery, set on a platform as a souvenir monument

Emmanuel Coste, Bishop of Carcassonne 1930-1931 (transferred to Aix)

Brochure-format of Elie Tisseyre’s 1906 article entitled ‘Excursion on 25 June 1905 to Rennes-le-Château’ deposited in the Bibliothèque Municipale of Carcassonne by “Marty”

Jean-Joseph Pays, Bishop of Carcassonne 1932-1951

Étienne Delmas Mayor of Rennes-le-Château, 1935-1968

The Testimony of Dr Jean Girou (1889-1972):

“We are now in the heart of Visigoth country. It remains to us only to visit the capital of the Razès, the former Rédé, known to the Romans as Rhedae. At the exit from Couiza a road rises steeply to the left – that’s the road to Rennes-le-Château. Outlined against the ridge of the plateau is a most unusual sight: ruined houses and a dilapidated feudal castle overhang – and are partly mixed up with – the chalk-cliff. Then we see villas and towers with verandahs, which are new and modern and which form a strange contrast with the ruins. This is the house of a priest who built these sumptuous living-quarters with the money from a discovered treasure – or so the locals say anyway!” (L’itinéraire en Terre d’Aude; Causse, Graille & Castelnau, Montpellier; 1936)

Urbain Gibert (1903-1989) recounted a Fairy-Mitouni legend about the shepherd Jean at Rennes-le-Château – without knowing anything about the legend of Ignace Paris that Noël Corbu was later to make popular during the 1950s and 1960s. Urbain Gibert co-Founded ‘Groupe d’études régionalistes et de folklore audois’ and the journal Folklore (Aude).

2 March: Pope Pius XII (to 1958)

Urbain Gibert reprised the legend of the Devil’s Treasure in 1941 as originally given by Auguste de Labouïsse-Rochefort in his book Voyage à Rennes-les-Bains published in 1832 (“la légende de Blanchefort”, Folklore (Aude) N° 23, juillet 1941, pp 153-155). Later utilised by the Rennes-le-Château mythmakers

22 July: Marie Dénarnaud bequeathed Saunière’s Estate by Holographic Will to Noël and Henriette Corbu. Noël Corbu settled Marie Dénarnaud’s debts of 31,529 francs.

4 March: Article by Roger Crouquet (1901-1987) entitled Visite à Une Ville Morte: Rennes-le-Château published in the Belgian magazine Le Soir illustré (number 819), is the earliest known press-article about Bérenger Saunière – portrayed as “a rather strange priest who preferred wine and women to practising the priesthood. At the end of the last century he had a rather original idea. He placed in foreign newspapers, especially in the United States, an advertisement announcing that the poor priest of Rennes-le-Château lived among heretics and had only the most meagre of resources”, and “The stoup which decorates the entrance to the chapel is carried by a horned devil with cloven hooves. An old woman remarked to us: ‘It’s the old priest, changed into a devil’” – the inhabitants did not refer to any treasure discovery but to gifts and to trafficking in masses, indicating that the source of Saunière’s wealth was an open secret to the villagers in 1948. Neither Noël Corbu or Marie Dénarnaud were mentioned in this article

Jean Bousquet village schoolmaster at Rennes-le-Château, and a lodger with the Corbu family (died 21 June 1989). His testimony:

“As for Mademoiselle Marie, she has, on each and every occasion, evaded the questions that I was able to put to her regarding, in particular, the source of Saunière’s fortune. And yet, for 5 years, we even took our meals together at the table of Monsieur and Madame Corbu (who had been kind enough to offer me lodgings). Since I am mentioning Monsieur and Madame Corbu, let me say that I cannot ever praise their generosity and their kindness highly enough. They looked after Mademoiselle Marie with a great deal of affection, and for me they were the most charming of hosts. I shall always revere their memory” (cited by Gilbert Tappa in Les Cahiers de Rennes-le-Château, tome 9; 1989)

Pierre-Marie Joseph Puech, Bishop of Carcassonne 1952-1982 (retired)

January 29: Marie Dénarnaud died aged 85. Noël Corbu inherits her archives relating to Bérenger Saunière

October: Noël Corbu temporarily becomes a member of la Société d’Ètudes Scientifiques de l’Aude

April: Noël Corbu transforms the Villa Béthanie into a restaurant called Hotel de La Tour

12, 13, 14 January: Albert Salamon’s series of articles entitled ‘The Fabulous Discovery of The Millionaire Priest of Rennes-le-Château’ in La Dépêche de Midi. The origin of The Myth of Rennes-le-Château involving Noël Corbu, who claimed for the first time (12 January) that, while the old Church altar was being dismantled “one of the old pillars of the altar providentially revealed a hole, from where slipped some tubes of hollow wood containing parchments written in Latin”. Noël Corbu also claimed (14 January) that Bérenger Saunière had “thanks to the parchments falling into his hands…discovered the famous treasure of Blanche of Castile, a royal treasure equivalent now to a minimum of 50 billion francs, since it comprises in part 18,500,000 francs in gold pieces, which at the very least is worth at the present time, in view of its historic and archaeological value, more than 400 million francs”

12 January: series of articles entitled ‘Trésors cachés de l'Aude’ published in le Midi Libre included: ‘Le fabuleux trésor des Wisigoths a-t-il été découvert par le curé de Rennes-le-Château?’

March: Dr André Malacan (1927-1997) obtains permission from the necessary authorities to conduct the first official archaeological excavation of the church of St Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Château. The “excavators” start by “thoroughly examining the subsoil of the church”. Once “the tiling had been properly removed” they come across “a crumbly layer of soil where, at a depth of about one metre, in a layer of lime, there still [lay] some bones”. But, “besides this burial” – the location of which is not specified – they do not discover “anything [...] worthy of interest” [Descadeillas, Mythologie du Trésor, 1974]. This was where Malacan found a skull marked with a groove – a “ritual” groove according to its discoverer.

On 31 March a dowser Monsieur d’Esperonnat suggested they dig Saunière’s garden where they exhumed the skeletons of three men, to which scraps of flesh and clothing still adhered. André Malacan was interested in Parapsychology and in 1952 authored La Sorcellerie et les Sorciers dans l’Oeuvre et la Pensée d’Ambroise Paré (Carcassonne, Impr. Bonnafous et Fils)

The ‘La Dalle des Chevaliers’ referred to in articles by Elie Tisseyre (1906), Antoine Fagès (1908) and Henri Guy (1927) was transferred from Rennes-le-Château to the stone-carving depository in the City of Carcassonne, later displayed in the City Museum. Discovered by Pierre Embry, Curator of Classified Material for the department of the Aude

Robert Charroux (1909-1978), founder of Club des Chercheurs du Trésors in 1951, with his wife Yvette, unsuccessfully scanned Rennes-le-Château for gold and jewels using a metal-detector; joined by the actress Denise Carvenne (1918-1980). Visitors included the dancer and actress Lycette Darsonval (Alice Andrée Marie Perron, 1912-1996) and artist Jean Raffy Le Persan (1920-2008)

Pendulum enthusiast and hypnotist Rolland Domergue with medium Germaine Goyard also soon appeared on the scene hoping to find evidence of the treasure discovered by Bérenger Saunière. The beginning of the Pilgrimages to Rennes-le-Château by those becoming convinced by the now-quickly escalating post-1956 myths and legends

28 October: Pope John XXIII (to 1963)

Jacques Cholet (1911-1985): Chief Engineer for the Parisian transport authority Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (R.A.T.P.), undertook official excavations in the church of Rennes-le-Château, yielding negative results:

“On my own account I excavated both under and behind the altar but found nothing. I also excavated in line with and in front of the altar – again nothing....I was also made to tear up the floor of the church, starting from the pulpit: my sponsor, a pendulum enthusiast, had located the entrance of the underground passageways there – but we found nothing. I persevered as far as the foundations of the church, digging as far as virgin soil. We found the outline of numerous empty vaults. We resumed the same task along the south wall, with approximately the same result, the only difference being that all the human remains, which were missing on the other side, had been placed there higgledy-piggledy. On the advice of a female clairvoyant we were urged to excavate behind the altar – but found nothing” (The Cholet Report, 25 April 1967)

The Cholet Report also serves as testimony to the evolving mythology of the parchments – involving two different alleged discoveries – a single parchment found in a piece of wood that had fallen from the belfry – and of parchments found in a hollow pillar that supported the Main Altar (and introducing Abbé Antoine Bigou, 1719-1794, into this mythology):

“One morning the old bell-ringer, while performing his duties, was almost hit on the head by a piece of wood that had fallen from the belfry. He kicked it inside and continued ringing the Angelus. That evening he came across the piece of wood again and, out of curiosity, picked it up and found it rather light for its size. Looking at it more closely he found that it was hollow and that it contained some ferns. Inside the ferns he found a parchment wrapped around a bone. The text on this parchment was written in Latin”

and:

“One day a lady, who was both pious and quite rich, said that she thought it was unseemly that people were continuing to say Mass (in this beautiful church restored to new condition) on such an old altar. With the agreement of the curé and without any regard for archaeology, she had the old altar, which dated from the Carolingian period, or perhaps even from that of the Visigoths, demolished and had it replaced with the one that is there now. Once again there was a ‘find’: in one of the pillars which held up the heavy altar slab the workmen found three parchments which the non-juring curé of the time [Abbé Antoine Bigou] of the Convention had hidden there. This time the translation was an easier task. It is thanks to the first two parchments that we know what we have written above about the local history of the region. The contents of the third parchment were not divulged, but Curé Saunière's subsequent conduct is a clear indication of its content. He asked some workmen who were busy building the conservatory at that time to come into the church with their shovels and pickaxes He made them dig behind the altar and soon there appeared the neck of an earthenware jar. He wanted to continue on his own: he had just found the secret hiding-place of the curé who had fled to Spain. It was in this earthenware jar that he found the magnificent ciborium which he offered to the canon of St. Paul de Fenouillet [Abbé Eugène Grassaud] to thank him for having pleaded his cause before the court in Rome”

29 April: Marina Grey (1919-2005) directed La Roue Tourne (‘The Wheel Turns’) that was the first television documentary about Bérenger Saunière at Rennes-le-Château – broadcast on the French channel RTF (Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française), with Noël Corbu playing the role of Bérenger Saunière

Rolland Domergue, now also the excavation partner of Jacques Cholet, discovers a forged parchment in a well dated “25 June 1249” and ascribed to Brother Dominic de Mirepoix – a hoax perpetrated by unknown villagers using a page from a 17th century book, with enigmatic words in Chinese ink added, placed in a bottle dating from Saunière’s time

14 June: Noël Corbu, Essai Historique sur Rennes-le-Château – five paged manuscript deposited in the ‘Archives de l’Aude’ in Carcassonne – Noël Corbu was given a tape-recorder by a guest to The Hotel de La Tour in 1962 who was unable to pay his bill and the text was recorded onto that – used by Noël Corbu to entertain his guests

April: Robert Charroux, Trésors du Monde enterrées, emmurés, engloutis (Éditions Fayard 1962; J'ai Lu 1968; Revised Edition, Éditions Fayard 1972; Éditions du Trésor 2013)

July: Frances-Inter Radio Programme presented by Robert Arnaut and Robert Charroux, and interviewing Noël Corbu, referred to the gravestone of Marie de Negri d’Ables and to the existence of another “stone” bearing the inscriptions “SAE” and “SIS”, announcing: “It is sincerely hoped that an appeal will be launched on the air-waves to find two triangular stones bearing various key inscriptions. These two stones could be in Paris. One bears the following inscription: ‘P.S. Reddis cellis regis arcis praecum’ and the other: ‘Sae sus in media linea ubi M cecat linea parva P.S. Praecum.’”

1 August: The newspaper La Dépêche du Midi repeated the appeal made on the Frances-Inter Radio Programme

21 June: Pope Paul VI (to 1978)

Henri Buthion (1924-2002) buys Saunière’s Estate from Noël Corbu

28 July: Municipal Council of Rennes-le-Château unanimously voted a local by-law prohibiting excavations in the village

Spring: Gérard de Sède, L’Or de Rennes (René Julliard), later entitled Le Trésor Maudit de Rennes-le-Château in 1968 (J’ai Lu). Revised Edition entitled Signé: Rose+Croix: l'Énigme de Rennes-le-Château in 1977 (Éditions Plon).
* Historical Romance dressed-up as Historical Fact, utilising and amending the earlier claims of Noël Corbu to fit-in with Pierre Plantard’s agenda and related to the Priory of Sion Document Les Dossiers Secrets d’Henri Lobineau (27 April, 1967), this book was criticised as unreliable when first published by Mgr Georges Boyer (“Mise au point et mise en garde”, Semaine Religieuse de Carcassonne, 1 June 1967), by Midi-Libre (3 December 1967), by L’Indépendant (29 November & 9 December 1967).

1 June: Georges Boyer, Focus And A Warning (La Semaine Religieuse de Carcassonne)

9 December: Georges Boyer commented in L’Indépendant: “That the Abbé Saunière could have received the last sacraments two days after his death is absolutely incredible. And that dear old Abbé Rivière, the curé of Espéraza, who died in 1929, and who was the Dean of Coursan (where I got to know him well) never smiled again after the death of the Abbé Saunière, to whom he had administered extreme unction, is another puzzling statement, as I myself saw him roar with laughter”

20 May: Noël Corbu killed in a car crash, buried in the cemetery of Rennes-le-Château in a tomb next to his wife Henriette who had died in 1966, that was situated close to the grave of Bérenger Saunière

Bérenger Saunière’s grave dynamited

Henri Lembège, Mayor of Rennes-le-Château 1968-1987

Village of Rennes-le-Château obtained the necessary permission to bring back ‘La Dalle de Chevaliers’ from Carcassonne, becoming stored in a glass-cabinet display aimed at tourists to the village

René Descadeillas (1909-1986), Mythologie du Trésor de Rennes: Histoire Veritable de L’Abbé Saunière, Curé de Rennes-Le-Château (Mémoires de la Société des Arts et des Sciences de Carcassonne, Années 1971-1972, 4me série, Tome VII, 2me partie; 1974) [Reprinted 1989, Savary, Carcassonne; 1991, Editions Collot, Carcassonne]

Mythologie du Trésor de Rennes was the first reasoned assessment of the story of Bérenger Saunière, providing details of the priest’s activities based upon documented evidence found in the departmental archives, the Carcassonne Bishopric, as well as the Saunière-Dénarnaud archives in the possession of Antoine Captier and Claire Corbu. Mythologie du Trésor de Rennes did contain several mistakes however – notably the mistaken claim that ‘Rome revoked Saunière’s suspension in October 1915’

René Descadeillas accepted that Saunière did make a discovery whilst renovating his church from what he called eye-witnesses: “Shortly after he removed the old altar, something happened the importance of which will rapidly become apparent (and three eye-witness accounts suggest that it did happen). While hollowing out the soil of the church behind the altar, Saunière found a pot, more precisely an ‘oule’ filled with gold coins. ‘But’, adds the eye-witness, ‘it was nothing to get excited about’. We think, indeed, that it was nothing to get excited about. Even so, the amount of money he found on that occasion was certainly large enough to whet Saunière’s appetite for more”

* Mythologie du Trésor de Rennes, awarded 1975 Prix Toutain de l’Académie Française

The ‘Jesu medela vulnerum’ inscription at the bottom of the Main Altar in the church of Rennes-le-Château erased by vandals

26 August: Pope John Paul I (deceased 28 September 1978)

16 October: Pope John Paul II (to 2005)

2 March: François Mitterrand (1916-1996) visited Saunière’s Estate and the church of St Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Château during his Presidential Campaign – accompanied by the Président of the Conseil Générale of the Aude (Robert Capdeville, 1919-2001) and the Mayor of Rennes-le-Château (Henri Lambège). This inspired Pierre Plantard to later falsely claim that Roger-Patrice Pelat (1918-1989) was the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, resulting in his arrest and detainment in 1993 by Judge Thierry Jean-Pierre (1955-2005) when he was investigating the scandal involving French Prime Minister Pierre Bérégovoy (1925-1993), resulting in the Police search of Plantard's house and Plantard's retirement from his Priory of Sion activities.

Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln, The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail (Jonathan Cape) – the book responsible for placing the village of Rennes-le-Château onto Mappa Mundi – although initially successful due to several highly popular documentaries shown on British Television during the 1970s – it later transformed into an essential grimoire cherished by believers in assorted esoterica, followers of alternative history and New Age Romantics

Jacques-Joseph-Marie Despierre, Bishop of Carcassonne 1982-2004 (retired)

Jacques Rivière (1945-2006), Le Fabuleux Trésor de Rennes-Le-Château! Le Secret de L’Abbé Saunière (dedicated to Déodat Roché, with Notes Complementaires by Gilbert Tappa listing Saunière’s 61 Invoices; Editions Bélisane, 1983)

First part of Rivière’s book is devoted to Bérenger Saunière’s Ministry and its political background. Second part is devoted to the restoration of Saunière’s church and reproducing the Invoices. Third part is devoted to the construction of Saunière’s Estate. Fourth part is devoted to Saunière’s Ecclesiastical Trial 1910-1911, reproducing Saunière’s correspondence and providing transcripts of the material in the Carcassonne Bishopric. An essential book for anyone interested in Bérenger Saunière and Rennes-le-Château

Bérenger Saunière (1852-1917), Mon Enseignement à Antugnac, 1890 (edited by the Abbé Bruno de Monts, Editions Bélisane)

8 March: Lampe Rosaire in the church of Rennes-le-Château destroyed by vandals

Pierre Jarnac, Histoire Du Trésor de Rennes-Le-Château (L’Association pour le développement de la lecture; 1985)

Claire Corbu, Antoine Captier, L’Héritage De L’Abbé Saunière (Editions Bélisane; 1985; 2000; 2012) – although written from the perspective of ‘Saunière discovering a secret’ – the book presents a Treasure Trove of Archive relating to Bérenger Saunière and Marie Dénarnaud – actual reproductions of correspondence, notable photographs, drafts of Wills, as well as the preliminary drafts Saunière prepared for his defence during his 1910-1911 ecclesiastical Trial. The book ends on a poignant note about Saunière: “If the soul of the Abbé, so often invoked by mediums, did return to earth, it would certainly be disturbed by the sulphurous odour of occultism which has attached itself to his memory. At the same time, he would no doubt derive some satisfaction from seeing the long queue of tourists who have come to admire his church, even if they do not visit it for the pious reasons for which he himself might have hoped”

Jean-Michel Thibaux published his novel L’Or du Diable (Paris: Éditions Olivier Orban) that inspired the 6 part Television Mini-Series of the same name shown on FR3 in 1989, Jean-François Balmer playing the role of Bérenger Saunière (directed by Jean-Louis Fournier)

Roger Pujol, Mayor of Rennes-le-Château 1987-1997

Pierre Jarnac, Les Archives De Rennes-Le-Château, Tome 1 & 2 (Editions Bélisane; 1987-1988)

January: Émile Saunière, Moi, Bérenger Saunière, Curé de Rennes-le-Château (Two Volumes, Espéraza, 1989; Volume One: “Historique et Illustrations”, Volume Two: “Révélations et message”). Volume Two re-published entitled Moi, Bérenger Saunière: Pensées et réflexions transcendantes de l'abbé Bérenger Saunière (Caussade: S. Pagenelle, 2005).

23 February: Declaration of Les Amis de Bérenger Saunière to the Prefecture of Alpes-Maritimes. An association that was part of Editions Bélisane that also published the journal Les Cahiers de Rennes-le-Château (first issue published in 1984)

10 May: Formation of Association Terre de Rhedae – to perpetuate the memory of Bérenger Saunière and to welcome and inform visitors to the ‘Saunière Museum’ of its wider Mission – the conservation, management, promotion and the development of the commune. The first issue of its journal was published in January 1990

June: Abbé Bruno de Monts (1910-2003), Bérenger Saunière, Curé à Rennes-Le-Château 1885-1909 (Editions Bélisane, Collection Les Amis de Bérenger Sauniére; 1989; 2000)

Jean-Jacques Bedu, Rennes-Le-Château: Autopsie d’un Mythe (Ed. Loubatières; 31120 Portet-sur-Garonne; 1990, 2002)

Formation of Le Reflet de la Fabuleuse Rhedae by Celia Brooke (1944-2012) and Nicole Dawe (President, Christophe Jankowiak) – “an association which aim is to provide a welcome and information centre for visitors to the area interested in its history and legends and is particular for the large English-speaking percentage”, working alongside Association Terre de Rhedae – the Number 1 issue of Le Reflet – Newsletter in English was published in Autumn, 1993

The original ‘Visigothic Pillar’ transferred to the ‘Saunière Museum’ following the renovation and re-opening of the Museum on 1 July, and replaced by a replica manufactured by Alain Féral – as a result of becoming more and more eroded and damaged due to natural weather conditions. The Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was restored and repainted by Alain Féral

It was when the ‘Saunière Museum’ was re-opened on 1 July that confusion arose over the display of a “B.S. Bookplate”

30 December: Henry Buthion sold Saunière’s Estate to Bert Gerards and Robert L. Kroon (1924-2007)

Jean-Luc Robin (1949-2008) leases Saunière’s Estate and opens it to the public.

Renovations carried out on the Villa Bethanie and Saunière’s Private Chapel, refurbishments on the Tour Magdala – with the belvedere becoming the site for a second museum in the village that displayed the original relics, documents and Priest’s Vestments – that were transferred from the original ‘Saunière Museum’ situated in the Presbytery run by the Association Terre de Rhedae

26 July: The church of St Mary Magdalene was registered a Historical Monument

Vinciane Denis, Rennes-Le-Château, Le trésor de l’abbé Saunière (Editions Marabout, Collection “les Grands Formats”; 1996)

Les Cahiers de Rennes-le-Château Number 11 (“Le Vrai Trésor” edition) containing essential new information about Bérenger Saunière in articles written by Abbé Bruno de Monts

21 April: The statue of the Devil in the church of Rennes-le-Château vandalised – decapitated with its right hand torn off

June: François Grassaud, Rennes-le-Château: Chroniques du Passé (Axat; also entitled Rennes-le-Château. François Bérenger Saunière prêtre, curé de Rennes-le-Château de 1885 à 1909. Dossier Secret, 1999, 2008; translated into English entitled The Abbé Saunière: From 1885 to 1909, Priest of Rennes-le-Château, 2000)

30 November: Letter by Abbé Dominique Verge, on behalf of Monseigneur Jacques Despierre, the Bishop of Carcassonne 1982-2004 to Rennes-le-Château treasure researcher Geoffrey Morgan

Guy Matheliè-Guinlet, Rennes-le-Château: Le Mysterieux Trésor de l'Abbé Saunière (Bordeaux: Aubéron, 1997)

Bérenger Saunière, Curé : Cahier de Correspondances 1915-1917 (Avant-propos Pierre Jarnac, 1997)

13 October: Declaration of Club Horizon to the Sub-Prefecture of Limoux. Based in the Villa Béthanie – its aim was to promote the socio-economic and cultural history of Rennes-le-Château

Jean Balaguero, Mayor of Rennes-le-Château 1997-1998

Germain Blanc-Delmas, Chronique sur Rennes-le-Château: Marie d'Etienne, Le trésor oublié (éditions Envolée)

Germain Blanc-Delmas is the son of Étienne Delmas, the former Mayor of Rennes-le-Château 1935-1968

Jean-François Lhuilier, Mayor of Rennes-le-Château 1998-2008

The Municipality of Rennes-le-Château buys Saunière’s Estate

29 June: Declaration of Rennes-le-Château – Le Cercle to the Paris Prefecture of Police. Based in Paris, its aim was to establish contact amongst all similar groups and members for the exchange of information and ideas in the search of knowledge on the theme of “Rennes-le-Château”

1 August: Declaration of Association Internationalle des Chercheurs de Trésors (A.I.C.T.) to the Sub-Prefecture of Limoux. Founded by Jean Francois Crinon, Michel Bellec, Jean-Claude De Brou, Robert Montminy – its aim to conduct historical researches and investigations pertaining to the discovery of treasures, organising debates and conferences about the histories of treasures

12 September: Declaration of L’Association pour la Restauration de la Tombe de Bérenger Saunière to the Paris Prefecture of Police – its aim was to restore the tomb of Bérenger Saunière. Now called L’Association pour les Recherches Thématiques de Bérenger Saunière (ARTBS). President: Yves Lignon. Its Bulletin is entitled Actes du Colloque d'Études et de Recherches sur Rennes-le-Château

Pierre Jarnac, Bibliographie de Rennes-le-Château: Les Cahiers de Rennes-le-Château Number 12 (Editions Bélisane)

Bill Putnam, John Edwin Wood, The Treasure of Rennes-le-Château: A Mystery Solved (Sutton Publishers 2003; Revised Paperback Edition, Sutton Publishers 2005)

Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (Random House) – The novel responsible for accelerating the most interest in Rennes-le-Château since the publication of The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln in 1982. It has become the biggest-selling novel of all time. Other titles that inspired Dan Brown included The Woman With The Alabaster Jar by Margaret Starbird (1993) and The Templar Revelation by Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince (1997)

12 February: Declaration of Société Perillos to the Sub-Prefecture of Narbonne, its aim to promote the historical value of the abandoned village of Périllos, by Perpignan. President: André Douzet, who has been promoting the existence of a ‘Maquette’, a topographical model of Jerusalem that he claims was commissioned by Bérenger Saunière – as well as unproven links between Saunière and Périllos, Opoul and Lyon (producing spurious receipts that cannot be independently examined), since the publication of Lumières Nouvelles sur Rennes-le-Château, Spécial Numéro 1, CEP d’OR de PYLA in 1995, written by Antoine Bruzeau and “Benoist Rivière” (André Douzet).

20 August: Digging under the Tour Magdala in search of buried treasure headed by the Mayor of Rennes-le-Château yielded negative results – with Professor Robert Eisenman, Professor Andrea Baratollo and Michael Baigent witnessing proceedings as spectators – the archaeological project dating from April 2001 sponsored by The John Merrill Foundation. The event was filmed for a History Channel documentary entitled Investigating History: The Holy Grail that was shown on 19 April 2004. Ground Penetrating Radar Scans of the church at Rennes-le-Château conducted by Professor Harry Jol allegedly revealed the existence of a possible burial crypt beneath the church floor (although not all archaeologists were convinced of this) – permission to physically excavate the church had been refused by the Archaeological Body of France (Directions Régionales des Affaires Culturelles, or DRAC), due to the frail condition of the building, and DRAC later filed a complaint against the Mayor of Rennes-le-Château for illegal excavations after digging under the Tour Magdala. The archaeological project had been inspired by the claims of American citizen Jean-Louis Genibrel, who claimed his grandfather's uncle was a foreman of Saunière's works. The story of Bérenger Saunière burying a “wooden box about the size of a baby” under the Tour Magdala was first published in the article “Les Démons du Midi” by Pierre Sourbès in L'Indépendant of 3 December 1967.

14 September: Bérenger Saunière’s remains re-interred in a mausoleum situated in the village cemetery, from which time it became closed to the General Public

A Notice on the Cemetery Door read: L’ACCESS DU CIMETIERE EST RESERVE AUX FAMILLES DES DEFUNTS. Les familles extérieuses à la commune ne possédant pas de clé s’adresseront à la “Boutique du Presbytère”. Tous le jours de: 10H à 12H, et de 14H à 16H30.

Marie-France Etchegoin, Frédéric Lenoir, Code Da Vinci: L’Enquête (Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris, 2004) – “The story of Rennes-le-Château functions as a powerful catalyst, attracting all the mysteries, all the speculations – as well as all the deceptions that swarm in the esoteric nebula. We have before us the creation of a contemporary myth”

L'Association Légendes d'Oc founded by Stéphanie Buttegeg, dedicated to promoting the cultural, tourist and historical heritage of the Razès. Its Bulletin is entitled A la Recherche du Secret Perdu

Alain-Emile-Baptiste Planet, Bishop of Carcassonne 2004-

19 April: Pope Benedict XVI (to 2013)

April: Bernardo Sanchez da Motta, Do Enigma de Rennes-le-Château ao Priorado de Sião: História de um Mito Moderno (Editora Ésquilo; reprinted in 2019)

15 September: Massimo Introvigne, Gli illuminati e il Priorato di Sion. La verità sulle due società segrete del Codice da Vinci e di Angeli e Demoni (Edizioni Piemme)

30 November: Declaration of Le Cercle du 17 Janvier to the Sub-Prefecture of Limoux. Founded by Asmodé, Blanchefort, Deg, and Rambiel – its aim to hold annual meetings on 17 January for people interested in the subject matter of Rennes-le-Château. Members of this Association have voluntarily restored the grave of Abbé Antoine Gélis (1827-1897) in Coustaussa in 2005, the Delmas Calvary in Rennes-les-Bains on 17 January 2007, the grave of Abbé Jean Vié (1808-1872) in Rennes-les-Bains on 17 January 2009

10 December: Declaration of Association Rennes-le-Château.doc to the Sub-Prefecture of Provins. Created by “Patrick Mensior” – its aim is to collect and to collate all the known documentation relating to Bérenger Saunière and Rennes-le-Château – with updates provided in the Bulletin Parle-moi de Rennes-le-Château

26 April: Declaration of Le Cercle Boudet to the Sub-Prefecture of Limoux – historical research on Abbé Henri Boudet (1837-1915) and the histories of Rennes-le-Château and Rennes-les-Bains. Also called Cercle Boudet 11

2 November: La Dépêche du Midi published an interview with Jean-François Lhuillier, Mayor of Rennes-le-Château, entitled ‘Rennes-le-Château: After Six Years’ Research The Mayor Pours Cold Water On All The Wild Theories That Surround It’

6 November: Declaration of L’Association Pour La Préservation de l’Âme de Rennes-le-Château (APARC) to the Sub-Prefecture of Limoux. Founder and Chairman was Jean-Luc Robin (1949-2008), with Henry Lincoln Honorary President – to promote the heritage of the village, to prevent further vandalism, and to encourage harmony. André Galaup was elected Chairman of APARC on 4 October 2008 following the death of Jean-Luc Robin

March: Renovation work on the Presbytery in Rennes-le-Château began

10 June: Gérard Jean – of the Société d’Études Scientifiques de l’Aude & Académie des Arts et Sciences de Carcassonne – stated at the annual 2007 ARTBS seminar – that the stèle of Marie de Negri d’Ables, Countess Hautpoul-Blanchefort still existed (in private ownership) – that it was taken away by Monsieur Marty to Carcassonne during the excursion led by Elie Tisseyre to Rennes-le-Château in 1905 (Patrick Mensior, Parle-Moi de Rennes-le-Chateau! Number 4, “Quelques mots sur Antoine Fages”, pages 108-109, 2007). Most probably another myth.

30 September – 1 October: The Miraculous Statue in the Minor Basilica of Notre Dame de Marceille vandalised – decapitated with its Mantle torn off

17 April: Richard Heygate wrote a letter to the Rennes-le-Château Municipal Council asking it for permission to do Ground Penetrating Scans in the village church, which was approved.

L’ABC de RLC – l’Encyclopédie de Rennes-le-Château, edited by Patrick Berlier, Daniel Dugès, Thierry Garnier, Antoine Captier, Michel Vallet, Franck Daffos, Jean Brunelin, Gil Alonso-Mier, Georges A D Martin, Michel Crozet, Jean-Luc Chaumeil, Alain Caradec, Laurent ‘Octonovo’ Buchholzer, Gabriel D’Atilia, Jean-Pierre Monteils, Jocelyne Bartolini, Paul Saussez, Gino Sandri, André Goudonnet (preface by Michel Vallet; Arqa editions, April 2008; 684 pages)

Claudie Voisenat (Editor), Imaginaires archéologiques (preface by Daniel Fabre and Christian Hottin), Cahier Number 22, Ethnologie de la France, Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l’homme
Pages 61-86: chapter by Christiane Amiel entitled ‘L’abîme au trésor, ou l’or fantôme de Rennes-le-Château’

Alexandre Painco, Mayor of Rennes-le-Château 2008-

1 March: Opening of the new ‘Bérenger Saunière Museum’ in Rennes-le-Château. Preliminary plans were drawn-up in August 2008 involving Mariano Tomatis, Antoine Captier, Daniel Dugès, Christian Doumergue and the Municipality of Rennes-le-Château to produce an extensive and comprehensive presentation of all the major data on the subject matter to visitors in four languages – English, Italian, German and Spanish. Mariano Tomatis was awarded the ‘Prix Bérenger Saunière’ on 5 June 2010 by ARTBS (L’Association pour les Recherches Thématiques de Bérenger Saunière) for his innovative efforts in designing the new version of the Museum

4 June: Letter by Henri Marchesi, the Regional Conservator of Archaeology, to Albert Fagioli, responding to his plans to undertake excavations at Rennes-le-Château

3 June: Declaration of Association Trésor Cathare to the Sub-Prefecture of Limoux, based in Campagne-sur-Aude. Officially created 10 July 2010 by Yannick Laffont and Gérard Vidal. Activities: Day trips to Celtic megalithic temples near Rennes-le-Château, to the church at Campagne-sur-Aude and picnics. Also visits to Celtic, Gallo-Roman and Knights Templar exhibitions in the village. Its goal is to “safeguard historic treasures buried in the depths of the ground and memories of time”

Restoration work on The Tour Magdala

Germain Blanc-Delmas, Le crâne perce d'un trou de Sainte-Marie Madeleine de Rennes-le-Château (Carcassonne: Impr. Antoli, 2010)

David Rossoni, L’Histoire Rêvée de Rennes-le-Château: Eclairages sur un Récit Collectif Contemporain (Books on Demand Editions)

8 April: Letter by DRAC to Albert Fagioli concerning his request to excavate the church of St Mary Magdalene

May: Restoration work on the Exterior and Interior of the church of St Mary Magdalene completed

André Galaup, Rennes-le-Château: En quête de vérité (Messages Imprimerie, 2012)

* Pages 202-210 contain information about René Guilhem, the former headmaster of the school at Rennes-le-Château, who lodged with Marie Dénarnaud and the author maintains that Bérenger Saunière belonged to a circle of priests that supported the restoration of the French monarchy

13 March: Pope Francis

14 April: La Dépêche du Midi, The Dreams of Rennes-le-Château. The article quotes the Mayor as saying: “We're going to do some researches within the so-called “local built-heritage” (petit patrimoine) framework... if we make some interesting discoveries then, perhaps, under the auspices of DRAC, we will finally excavate at Rennes-le-Château. But they will be proper, official excavations!” Belgian architect Paul Saussez, member of a community of believers in the “treasure”, was also appointed as the official representative of the Rennes-le-Château Municipal Council on 26 August 2011 in an attempt to persuade DRAC, in conjunction with Frédéric Loppe of the “Amicale Laïque de Carcassonne” and the archaeologist Marie-Elise Gardel, into making official excavations into the burial crypt beneath the village church (Paul Saussez, “Point sur le dossier des fouilles concernant l'église de Rennes-le-Château”, pages 73-76, Actes du Colloque d'Études et de Recherches sur Rennes-le-Château 2012, Editions de l'Oeil du Sphinx, 2013). However, the anticipated updates between Paul Saussez and DRAC never materialised and the archaeological excavations of Rennes-le-Château were never undertaken.

1 August: Using a dowsing-rod, Albert Fagioli claimed to have discovered underground cavities and a “cache” beneath the church of Rennes-le-Château. Philippe Hui stated that in the absence of any official excavating by DRAC, a fibre-optic cable would be inserted into the ground (L'Indépendant, 2 August 2013). The same kind of treasure hysteria that dominated the village of Rennes-le-Château during the 1950s with Noël Corbu (1912-1968) and Robert Charroux (1909-1978) continues on into the 21st century – except that most of the local inhabitants have been forced to leave the village because of unwanted and fallacious-based mass tourism

August: Christian Doumergue, President of the Association Terre de Rhedae, holds a controversial exhibition devoted to Pierre Plantard in Rennes-le-Château to coincide with the publication of his book, that drew hostile reactions from other believers in the alleged mystery (published in L'Indépendant, “Une exposition très controversée à Rennes-le-Château”, 9 August, 2013; in La Dépêche du Midi, “Rennes-le-Château. La réhabilitation d'un personnage controversé crée la polémique”, 27 December 2013; and again in La Dépêche du Midi, “Rennes-le-Château: Le passé de Plantard fait polémique”, 9 January 2014)

6 September: Creation of the magazine “Rennes-le-Château Le Mag”, a collaboration of local associations – ARTBS, APARC, Association Rennes-le-Château.doc, l'Oeil du Sphinx, Legende d'Oc and Pégase – in a crucial attempt to produce a legitimate presentation of the flashy “mystery” that they all treat seriously. The inaugural issue is dated June 2014

22 May: The grandson of Dr André Malacan returned the skull to Rennes-le-Chäteau that was discovered in the church in 1956 – following legal wranglings since April 2013 – the story was covered in L'Indépendant (31 May 2010) and in La Dépêche du Midi (19 May 2010, 4 June 2010, 30 June 2014). The aim is to have it Carbon-14 dated

6 June: Commemorative plaque marking the centenary of Henri Boudet's death was placed in the church porch in Rennes-les-Bains. It was unveiled by the village mayor André Authier in the presence of the deputy mayor Marcelle Delmas.

6 July: Article in La Dépêche du Midi by Jean-Luc Letitre entitled “Light is Shed on the Mystery of the Pierced Skull” stated that tests showed the skull found by André Malacan in 1956 belonged to a male about 50 years of age, with the external loss of bone at the top of the skull showing he had died from a powerful blow of a halberd. Carbon-14 tests gave a date for the pierced skull of between 1281 and 1396. The skull became a display in the “Le Musée Domaine de l'Abbé Saunière” by 7 August 2016.

12 March: The newly refurbished and renovated “Saunière Museum” re-opened in Rennes-le-Château (now called “Le Musée Domaine de l'Abbé Saunière”)

July: Michel Azens, Rennes-le-Château: Le Domaine de l’abbé Saunière. Histoire de sa construction. Informations sur son architecture (Éditions Pégase, 2016).
* Essential reference guide giving source materials about the construction of Saunière’s Estate – contemporary correspondence, plans and photographs.

18 October: The Rennes-le-Château bookshop, “Atelier Empreinte”, first opened in March 1986 by Sonia Moreau and Alain Féral (1942-2013), auctioned.

22 January: Centenary of Bérenger Saunière’s death

3 March: Xavi Bonet, Oscar Fabrega, Enric Sabarich, Compendium Rhedae, 100 Años de Rennes-le-Château (prologue by Mariano F. Urresti, Editorial Círculo Rojo)

7 April: Kris Darquis premiers a film in Rennes-le-Château about Pilate's apocryphal wife Claudia Procula, marking a Rennes-le-Château tourist attraction linked to Christian Doumergue's two books, La Tombe Perdue (2008) and Le Secret Dévoilé (2013), linking the “village mystery” to Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene (easily debunkable because the so-called “Apocryphal letter of Claudia Procula” is a story called “La Mort du Juste” by Éveline Ribbecourt first published in 1846).
Christian Doumergue Debunked
Rennes-le-Château, Vindicta Salvatoris, Doumergue
Vindicta Salvatoris “Tomb of Christ” Translation
Tomb of Jesus Christ in Septimania
Saint-Thibéry (Saint Tiberius), Blessed Martyr

23 April: Statue of the Devil in the church of Rennes-le-Château decapitated and vandalised. The story was reported in La Dépêche (24 and 29 April), L'Indépendant (24 and 25 April) and Midi-Libre (24 April, reprinted on Fdesouche). The 30 year-old female who committed the vandalism (under the pretext of it serving as publicity for a book she had written), was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, placed on probation for 24 months, barred from entering the commune of Rennes-le-Château and fined 17,718 Euros, to which she protested: “I refuse to pay even a single symbolic Euro!” (La Dépêche, 24 November; L'Indépendant, 24 November). The statue of the devil had previously been decapitated and vandalised on 21 April 1996.

12 August: Donation of 1,000 Euros by the Prieuré de Sion – Ordre de la Rose Croix Véritas toward the repair of the vandalism committed in the church of Rennes-le-Château. Gino Sandri (Grand Patriarch) and Marco Rigamonti (General Secretary & Grand Master) preserve the lineage of Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair. The order (founded in 1099) is a conflation of Hermetic, Gnostic and Rosicrucian influences, dating back to ancient Babylon and Egypt – involving the revelation of the Holy Grail which is the hereditary DNA of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Bérenger Saunière codified this information into his church (Par ce geste, le Prieuré de Sion «embrasse Rennes-le-Château» L'Indépendant, 6 November, ladepeche, 8 November 2017).

22 August: Documentary-maker Philippe Brunel started the Projet Kisskissbankbank, (“L’abbé, le diable et les chercheurs”, Little Big Films) hoping to attract enough subscribers to plan about 6-7 documentary episodes about the subject matter of Rennes-le-Château (reported in La Dépêche du Midi on 2 September). An online appeal for donations quickly attracted the sum of over 5.000 Euros from 40 people. The unrelenting and voracious appetite about the mystery and treasure of Rennes-le-Château continues unabated in 2017 – despite the existence of evidence showing that Bérenger Saunière amassed over 200,000 francs between 1896-1915 from trafficking in masses – was summoned to a trial in 1910-1911 to explain his actions – was stripped of his priesthood – and planned to move to Lourdes, but was unable to do so because he could not sell his property (through the Banque Petitjean) to finance his plan.

September: Le journal de l’abbé Saunière 1901 à 1905: commenté par Patrick Mensior (Les Éditions de L’Oeil du Sphinx; Les Éditions Rennes-le-Château.doc, 2017)
* Changing hands between Noël Corbu, Henri Buthion and Monsieur Delépine, Saunière’s journal found its way for sale on the internet by “Francis Marchand” in 2011.
* Companion book to the one by Michel Azens, 2016
* Saunière’s journal doesn’t contain any references to a treasure

7 July: Claire Corbu & Antoine Captier, Bérenger Saunière – Marie Dénarnaud liés par un secret. RENNES-LE-CHÂTEAU (written in the form of a novel, preface and supplément “Le secret de l’abbbé Saunière: au milieu du tunnel” by Michel Vallet, includes Limited Edition of 250 numbered copies, Éditions Pégase)

25 July: Philippe Brunel shows his first “L'abbé, le diable et les chercheurs” documentary (Little Big Films) in Rennes-les-Bains. First part of a trilogy representing the formulated propaganda of the believers: “There is not one treasure, but several treasures: being part of a complex and enigmatic mystery”

January: Bernardo Sanchez da Motta, O Priorado de Sião e a Ordem do Templo (independently published, 2019)
* This book contains an interview with Antoine Captier, who maintains his belief in Bérenger Saunière's treasure discovery – that the material proof was burnt by Marie Dénarnaud – and that “for obvious reasons” the location of Saunière’s treasure discovery “must be kept secret” (pages 85-95).

22 March: Completion of the restoration of the statue of the Devil in the church of Rennes-le-Château (now protected by glass), that was decapitated and vandalised on 23 April 2017

23 May: Alexandre Painco re-elected Mayor of Rennes-le-Château

21 May: Inauguration of the Abbé Antoine Gélis Museum in Coustaussa (Tourist Attraction for the Mystery Buffs).
* Abbé Antoine Gélis, assassinated in his Coustaussa presbytery on the night of Halloween, 31 October 1897. Mainstream accounts suggest that Abbé Gélis was an Anti-Republican priest murdered in an altercation involving several Pro-Republican ruffians, most probably homeless transients, as given by regional newspapers of the period, with headlines like “Exploits rêpublicaine” (L'Univers, 12 May 1881), thus explaining why no money was stolen (theft was not the motive), and why his dead body was laid out in a parody of the Catholic Ritual

David Rossoni
14 December: La Pseudo-histoire décodée: L'exemple de Rennes-le-Château (Éditeur de la Zététique, Éditions book-e-book, 2022)