The Paris church of Saint Sulpice has played a role in the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château ever since Gérard de Sède made mention of it in his book l’Or de Rennes also called Le Trésor Maudit in 1967. We now know he was prompted by Pierre Plantard. Les Dossiers Secrets,  deposited in the French National Library between 1964 and 1967 also make mention of St. Sulpice several times. The direct connection with Saunière is that according to De Sède, Saunière visited the Seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris to have the parchments he allegedly discovered in his church deciphered. Its claimed that Bishop Billard sent him there and covered his expenses. At St. Sulpice, it is said, Saunière met Emile Hoffet who indeed deciphered the texts for him.

Although this story is highly controversial and not substantiated by any evidence, the name of St. Sulpice comes back in many of the lines of research. There were strong ties between St. Sulpice, the Compagnie de Saint Sacarament, the Fouquet brothers and Notre Dame de Marceille. Some of Saunière’s best friends like Abbé Eugène Grassaud studied there. Also Louis de Coma studied at St. Sulpice. It features prominently in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

The Great Seminary of Saint Sulpice was founded by Jean-Jacques Olier, a pupil of Saint Vincent de Paul. He lived an exemplary Christian life. Like De Paul, Olier was a member of the legendary Compagnie du Saint Sacrament. Olier did a staggering amount of good works during his life. Central to his ideas was that the Christian Perfection was not only achievable for the clergy but for everybody who is prepared to lead a devout life in piety. Olier was a great organizer. He took his self proclaimed vocation of reviving religious life in France very serious and lived in poverty for many years devoting all the money that came in to making St. Sulpice into the leading national religious institution.

One thing for sure is that St. Sulpice is not your average church. The second largest church in Paris after the slightly larger Notre-Dame, it is dedicated to Saint Sulpitious the Pious. It’s a testament to the works of Olier and De Paul and an impressive signature for the seminary. The current, huge building was erected over a much smaller and older church. It was finished in its current state in 1733 with exception of the façade. The old church itself was built on the ruins of a Roman temple devoted to the Goddess Isis.

In 1737, father Languet de Gercy had a giant sundial installed. Officially only to be able to determine the exact date of Easter. It also stipulated more esoteric notion that the church was built on top of the old Paris Meridian. To represent this, a meridian line of brass was runs across the floor, ascending a white marble obelisk, nearly eleven meters high, at the top of which sits a sphere surmounted by a cross. The contruction was done by the English astronomer Henry Sully. In the south transept window a lens was inserted. At noon on the winter solstice (December 21), the ray of light touches the brass line on the obelisk. At noon on the equinoxes (March 21 and September 21), the ray touches an oval plate of copper in the floor near the altar.

Between 1820 and 1875, the city of Paris asked 17 artists to redecorate the church, the most famous one being Eugène Delacroix. During the decoration some imagery was introduced in the church that is claimed by some researchers to contain clues of an esoteric or masonic nature. It concerns the two stoups, the inversed texts in the signature and Crucifixion mural of Émile Signol and some oddities in two works of Delacroix in the Chapel of the Angels. The works of Delacroix in Saint Sulpice are commonly considered as his spiritual testament, especially ‘Jacob fighting the Angel’.

©2007-2008 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved
 

Emma Calvé (Rosa-Emma Calvet) 1858-1942 was one of the most famous opera singers of her day. She was deeply attracted to, and a leading participant in, the thriving esoteric scene in Paris, taking as a lover one of the most renowned occultists of the time, Jules Bois. In 1894 she bought a château at Cabrières in the Aveyron region. This was said to be the place where the book of Abraham the Jew, used by the great medieval alchemist Nicolas Flamel, was hidden. A book written in 1655 by Pierre Borel made the connection: Now the book by which Flamel said he came to achieve the Great Work is that of Abraham the Jew. Many have worked to recover it… but these searches have been useless. I have nevertheless been assured by a gentleman of Rouergue called M. de Cabrières, tenant of his château of Cabrières near Millau, where I went specially to see this Monsieur, that he had the original of this book, which M. le Cardinal de Richelieu recovered a short time before his death. Allegedly, Saunière met this internationally acclaimed opera-star on one of his trips to Paris. Emma was often to be found at St. Sulpice, mystic heart of the French capital at the time. It is there that Gérard de Sède claimed they first met in his book The Accursed Treasure of Rennes-le-Château. It is said Calvé and the Abbé had a passionate affair. It is a fact that villagers of Rennes-le-Château have testified hearing a strong and melodic opera voice singing during some of Saunière’s lavish parties in the Villa Bethania. There’s no proof however.

Recording of Emma Calvé from 1907

Emma Calvé was member of a Martinist order as demonstrated by her signature on this document made in Paris on November 11th, 1892, at the cabaret “Chat Noir”. It shows her signature and “SI” or “Supérieur Inconnu”, the third degree of the Martinist Order. It is said Saunière was member of a Martinist lodge in Lyon. Calvé’s tomb in Milau shows some esoteric imagery like an iron bee. Emma Calvé is said to have been related to Melanie Calvet, the farmer girl who saw the Virgin Mary at La Salette.

The alleged relation between Calvé and Saunière was brought back into the spotlight when Patrice Chaplin published her book City of Secrets, in which she claims they knew eachother very well. Thanks to Mark Naples for the Cabrières story. ©2007-2008 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved

Select a video from the player and click it to start.
Use the sidebar on the left to scroll down through the available videos.

Emile-Henri Hoffet (1873-1946)

Renowned Occultist and Paleographist (someone who studies ancient manuscripts). Supposedly Hoffet was the expert that decoded the parchments Saunière brought to Paris and left there. According to Gérard de Sède, Hoffet was staying at St. Sulpice with his uncle Abbé Bieil (who was the director in 1892), when Saunière arrived with his legend in a suitcase. In actual fact, Hoffet was only a 20 year old novice at the time and (according to René Descadeillas of the Carcassonne library) living in Holland at the moment sûprème. Member of the Oblati Mariae Immaculatae, he was nominated priest in Liège (Belgium) in 1898 and only moved to Paris in 1914 where he lived in the rue Blache and died at the age of 73 in 1946.

©2007-2008 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved