For over twenty-two years, La Gazette de Rennes-le-Château has featured a considerable number of works devoted to our mystery. We have read many more besides. But the one you are holding in your hands immediately stood out as a book apart. Rare, solidly researched, remarkably well argued, it stands out for its fluent and skilful writing style, fluent and controlled style, without any inconsistencies or inaccuracies. What is particularly striking is the new direction it proposes: an original historical approach, capable of shedding light on several episodes in the life of Abbé Bérenger Saunière – his encounters, his choices, his travels – by finally placing him at the centre of the investigations, in his village, in his work, in his fiefdom. How can we link the episode of the cistern during the fire in the village, the chalice given to Abbé Grassaud, the pilgrimage to Arles-sur-Tech, the project for a retirement home for elderly priests, or the confession made to Abbé Rivière on his deathbed? Here, the author succeeds in weaving these elements together with a rare degree of coherence. He also revisits old discoveries, often left unfinished – the Abbé's sources of funding, the crypt, the underground passages – and goes beyond them thanks to a more thorough, more rigorous investigation. His guiding thread remains remarkably consistent. Are you familiar with Saints Abdon and Sennen, Venance Fortunat, Félix Lajard, the prophet Manes, or the Book of Tobit? If not the case, you will discover how much these references shed light on the matter. We therefore invite you to open “Rennes-le-Château: The Gold of the Dead and the True Priory of Sion”. Everything fits together with an inescapable logic: what Saunière found, how he exploited it, to whom he had to answer. Because the Abbé carried a heavy, disturbing secret all his life, known to a few people, unknown to others, and which shocked those who were its custodians. The second part of the title has no doubt piqued your curiosity. There, you discover the true lineage of the Priory of Sion, far removed from the fantastical stories peddled by Pierre Plantard and his few acolytes. The author achieves this with remarkable precision, drawing on previously unpublished and verified documents. Finally, behind the researcher and the scholar, we have found the man: Isaac Ben Jacob. Conscientious, measured, loyal in friendship – qualities that we had already recognised more than twenty years ago – and which are fully confirmed fully in 2026.

Here, he presents a seminal work hat marks a decisive step in the understanding of the mystery of Rennes-le-Château and the Priory of Sion. To continue the adventure, all you have to do now is… turn this page.

Johan Netchacovitch, Editor-in-Chief of La Gazette de Rennes-le-Château: https://portail-rennes-le-chateau.com/