The church in Rennes-le-Château where Abbé Saunière served as a priest was dedicated to Mary Magdalene – and that is why all the pseudo-myths centre around her. But the real saint of Rennes-le-Château was the Virgin of Lourdes where Bernadette Soubirous was especially venerated, with the Lourdes Grotto being held in the utmost regard. The Shrine of Lourdes was also where it became mixed with the Anti-Republican activities during 19th Century France. That’s what the wealth and activities of Abbé Saunière would go down as in French history. This is not very popular among the Magdalene Fantasies, so it will not go down very well with our Romantic Story Tellers.

Quite apart from the obvious Statue of Notre Dame de Lourdes that was installed by Abbé Saunière in 1891, there are the initials of “BS” serving as the pun on “Bernadette Soubirous” and “Bérenger Sauniêre” above the statue of the Devil being crushed by the Holy Water Stoup – and also some of the decorations inside the church also bear what seem to be identical symbolism (although this could also serve as the triple-pun on “Bernadette Soubirous”, “Bérenger Sauniêre” and “Sainte Madeleine”).

The water in the Holy Water Stoup could also have originated from the Shrine of Lourdes, where Bernadette Soubirous found a hidden spring – it would have served as a powerful talisman while the faithful made their sign of the cross upon entering the church, crushing the statue of the Devil that symbolised The atheistic French Republic.

Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. Four years later, in 1858 in the damp and dark grotto of Massabielle, The Virgin Mary in Lourdes spoke intimately with Bernadette Soubirous, saying: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Our Romantics claim that the Devil in the Church of Rennes-le-Château is “Asmodeus” – but in actual fact the statue has a lot more to do with this:

Let’s also not forget that Abbé Saunière went on several pilgrimages to the Shrine of Lourdes, as well as planning to retire to Lourdes following his defrocking as a priest by the Carcassonne Bishopric, revealed in a letter from Abbé Gazel to Abbé Saunière dated 12 September 1910.

It is more than likely that the correct status and the activities of Abbé Saunière represented the village of Rennes-le-Château acting as a Money-Laundering Scam serving Anti-Republican values and activities during the relevant period. We can, with full confidence, dismiss out-of-hand at least 95% of all things written about Rennes-le-Château involving conspiracy theories and consign them all to the waste disposal unit.