Rennes-le-Chateau

There are many conspiracy theories about Rennes-le-Chateau and the fact of the matter is that without these conspiracy theories fewer visitors, including myself, would come to this fairly non-descript, though still pretty, village. Most people come because there are so many fascinating questions remaining to be answered and presumably some questions will stay unanswered unless the Roman Catholic Church provides help in these matters. Indeed part of the fascination about coming to Rennes-le-Chateau is the belief that you may find something or see something or have a theory all other visitors have missed.

Rennes-le-Chateau stands on a plateau above the Aude River. Most visitors head for the church of Mary Magdalene. On the left-hand side just inside the entrance, the Devil Asmodeus is supporting a font. The stations of the cross are prominently displayed. On the tableau for the 8th station where Jesus is meeting the women of Jerusalem, one of the women is veiled and a child appears to be wearing tartan.

Other prominent features in the town are a tower with wonderful views over the Pyrenees called the Tour Magdala, a house where the priest and his maidservant lived called Villa Betania, and a greenhouse. All these places were apparently built by the parish priest, Father Beranger Sauniere. He was priest here from 1885 until his death in 1917. He began restorations of the ruined Eglise Ste-Marie-Madeleine almost immediately upon arrival, but the pace of this work changed from 1891 onwards when he started to build Villa Betania and Tour Magdala on a parish priest’s pay. That Beranger Sauniere found something worth selling during his restorations in the church is almost certainly true, but no one knows to this day what he found and to whom he sold it.