In the 1890s, in, the nondescript Village of Raynaude, Father Antoine Rousse faced a serious problem. In fact, for a Catholic priest, it was a matter of some urgency. His church and presbytery were in such a state of disrepair that he could not conduct mass. As a result, the catholic children of the village were forced to attend a nearby Protestant school. This enraged the young priest, who set out on a quest to renovate and rebuild the entire complex.

The ancient church of Notre Dame de Raynaude dates from the 12th century. Restoration on it and the surrounding monistic structures began in 1862, but the work was quickly derailed when funds were unexpectedly depleted. But then, as legend would have us believe, the dejected priest was the recipient of some amazing good fortune.

In 1892, less than a year after Bérenger Saunière wrote ‘Discovered a tomb. At night it rained’ in his diary in Rennes-le-Château, the famed American oil tycoon, industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller visited the region. Or so the story goes. As incredible as it sounds, Rockefeller had evidently learned of the plight of, Abbé Rousse and his failed restoration and was sympathetic to the priest’s cause. A significant donation was provided post haste and the restorations were quickly underway.

The work was completed by 1895 and commemorated in an inaugural celebration presided over by one, Monseigneur Rougerie. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and Sainte Anne; inspired by the 1858 apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes.

With the restoration now complete, the church had essentially been repositioned lower in the landscape than its ancient predecessor. However the hill behind the church would not stay empty for long. If we turn the clock ahead 50 years, Father Louis de Coma’s Carol estate was about to be dynamited by authority of the Bishop. With forewarning of this event, local clergy managed to save Father Louis de Coma’s beloved Stations of the Cross and relocate them to Notre Dame de Raynaude, on the hill immediately behind the modern day church. The Stations of the Cross, which remain in situ today, are sensational. Each is housed in a protective chapel.

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,©2007-2009 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved, pictures and original article copyright by Andrew Gough, reproduced here with kind permission

One of the many Banks that Saunière corresponded with was the Bank Fritz Dörge, 4 Kossuth Lajos Utca in Budapest. It has led to much speculation about his dealings with the Habsburgs, that had there base in Hungary. It is claimed by some that Saunière travelled to Hungary during some of the many documented, times the priest was away from his parish.

Italian researcher Mariano Tomatis went to Budapest, and took these pictures of what used to be the Bank Fritz Dörge.

,©2007-2009 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved, photos copyright Mariano Tomatis, reproduced here with kind permisson

In 1995, French researcher André Douzet discovered a topographical model of the Holy Places from the beginning of the 20th century. In an envelope, taped to the bottom of the model he found a number of letters and specifications, allegedly written by Bérenger Saunière to the model maker. In one letter Saunière talks about the specifications for the model. In a second letter that was recently published he talks about a second copy of the model intended for another priest in an unknown location.

The Model illustrates the primary sites associated with the biblical Passion of Christ in Jerusalem, including the location of two notable tombs; that of Jesus Christ and his uncle, Joseph of Armathea. The model is a clay pre-production copy, intended to be made in brass. The correspondence suggests that the end product was never finished. Saunière died before it could be produced. Douzet suspected Saunière had wanted to leave a last clue. The topography didn’t match the sites in the Holy Land the model said to depict. For years he fruitlessly tried to place the model in the Rennes-le-Château region. It was only when he wanted to make a copy of the model for exposition at the Villa Bethania that he recognised a feature on the negative plastic mould: the Roc Redon, near the ruined village of Perillos.

The village of Perillos was once occupied by the Lords of Perillos, who counted among them the illustrous Ramon de Perillos, Grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta. Perillos was part of the parish of Durban-Corbières. A number of familiar priests headed that parish. Both Antoine Gélis and Henri Boudet were once priest in Durban. Locals of the village remember Saunière visiting certain families and having an interest in their archives.

Today Perillos lies abandoned in one of the roughest and most barren landscapes in France. The closest inhabited place is Opoul-Perillos. In search of what it could be Saunière had wanted to tell about Perillos, Douzet stumbled upon a notary register from the 1632, in which the royal notary Courtade described the transfer of land from Spain to France as a result of Mazarin’s Treaty of the Pyrenees. On one of its pages, it mentioned in a small paragraph a ground that contained a piece of land which, administratively, was untouchable, non-transmissible, on which it was forbidden to cut or collect wood, stones or remove anything else from it. Even the lords of Perillos were subject to this law. Furthermore, the land couldn’t be sold. It was a closed enclave, without access, within the grounds of the lords of Perillos. They had to guard it, but weren’t allowed to manage it. It didn’t belong to them and in no manner were they to intervene or make use of it. It has been documented that also Cassini had a more than average interest in the area. This hero of France, known for his famous Cassini-map did the first ever topographical survey of France. He spent almost 1½ years in Opoul, which is an extraordinary amount of time for a small territory, relative to the rest of France that he had to map. He lived in modest conditions in Opoul, despite the fact that he normally lived in luxury. Despite all the time he spent there, he did not provide a detailed survey of Perillos. According to Douzet, he left the area where the tombs are empty on his Cassini map. Armed with the Courtade document and the model, Douzet claims he found the two tombs indicated on the model. He visited the tomb, described as ‘Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea’ and found some coins, nails and cups inside. He found the ‘Tomb of Christ’ sealed shut with a round stone of 2 metres in diameter.

In August 2008, a French researcher came forward with evidence that the claims proves that the two tombs are a hoax.

Perillos on Google Maps

The landscape of Perillos is impressive regardless of any possibly hidden secret there. The plains are overlooked by the magnificent plateau of Opoul, that once housed a castle with a garisson and a small community. It’s not hard to imagine why anyone would hide a secret here. The area is ridden with caves and cravasses. It would take years to systematically search this piece of land. The history of Perillos and any possible links to the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château are investigated in incredible detail by Société Perillos, the research society of André Douzet and Philip Coppens.
©2007-2008 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved

Photos of Perillos

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This week, Société Perillos finally published one of the letters that were found with the famous Saunière Model. This concludes 13 years of uncertainty about the authenticity of this model.

The letter contains general comments about the model and the implementation of certain requested details. Intriguingly at the very end, of the letter, Saunière names an unknown, priest in an unknown town who would, be the receiver of the second model:

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  Rennes-le-Château le…..

Cher monsieur,

Je vous remercie de votre dernière lettre.
Voici les renseignements que je vous
donne en pièces séparées. Ce sont les
cartes et les vues conformes à mes
explications précédentes pour le moulage.
Vous voudrez bien me faire savoir si
ma commande est susceptible d’être
agrée puisque ces détails obligent à
modifier ce projet et son devis.
Je compte que vous veillerez à ce que
ceci améliore l’aspect et les
informations attendues sur le relief des
terrains, mesures et dimensions totales.
Je vous demande de faire
parvenir, comme convenu à la
commande, l’autre modèle à
mon confrère Monsieur l’abbé
….. curé doyen de……

The model is pivotal in the theory involving Saunière’s dealings in the ruined village of Perillos.

Read the, full article about this on Société Perillos., 

,©2007-2009 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved, photo of the letter copyright Société Perillos

In 1995, the association Terre de, Rhedae, had the Church in Rennes-le-Château surveyed by architect Michel Verrot. The text here is a small piece of the actual much more elaborate report.

L’EGLISE SAINTE-MARIE-MADELEINE

L’église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine est inscrite sur l’inventaire supplémentaire des Monuments Historiques par arrêté du 26 juillet 1994.

L’église est implantée au nord-est du village, au bout de la Grand-Rue. Elle est insérée dans un ensemble monumental aménagé pour l’essentiel à la fin du XIXè siècle par l’abbé Saunière. Ces travaux qui ont également concerné l’église elle-même ont eu un effet perturbant sur la présentation du monument qui paraît sur son côté sud, fait d’éléments disparates juxtaposés. Il faut passer le portail du cimetière pour découvrir sur la partie nord du chevet des formes anciennes plus homogènes.

DESCRIPTION :

A l’extérieur :
La face nord du monument, relativement homogène est marquée par le grand clocher de plan carré adossé à la façade quasiment aveugle de l’église.
Les seules ouvertures sont celles percées au XIXè siècle au cours de l’aménagement de l’abbé Saunière.
Le clocher dont seule la souche (sur une hauteur de 5,30 m, comme en témoignent les parements intérieurs) appartient à une étape de construction primitive, est inégalement percé dans sa partie haute de baies grossièrement cintrées.
Le chevet est orné de lésènes reliées à leur sommet par des arcs doubles dont la retombée est portée par de petits cul-de-lampe sans ornementation sculptée. Cette disposition ornementale a disparu sur le demi périmètre sud de l’abside.
La petite baie d’axe dont on distingue encore l’appui a été remplacée lors des travaux de Saunière, par une grande baie circulaire surdimensionnée, qui a entraîné le relèvement de l’égout originairement couronné d’une simple dalle en entablement. Les quelques témoins en place de cette disposition peuvent laisser penser que l’église fut à une époque couverte en dalles de pierre (lauzes ?).
Il semble enfin, qu’une litre funéraire dont il ne reste que la bande d’enduit support, fut peinte sur le pourtour de l’édifice à une époque antérieure aux grands travaux de Saunière. (more…)