Curiosities

The heroes and villains of Rennes-le-Château legend are well documented. Today, any serious study of the genre includes the usual suspects, especially the priests; Father Bigou, Saunière, Boudet and Gélis. Their individual legacies are familiar to many, and the peculiar detail of their lives has led researchers to conclude that the priests may have shared a great heretical secret. The question is, just what did they know?

There is one priest, however, whose apparent involvement in the whole affair is shrouded in relative obscurity. And when the fog lifts on his unusual tale, a new chapter in the mystery will be unveiled. I speak of Father Louis de Coma, the man who set the standard for priests behaving strangely, three decades before Bérenger Saunière, the priest of considerable renown from Rennes-le-Château. Not surprisingly, the two men have much in common, as we shall see.

The Village of Raynaude – Is the fog lifting on Louis de Coma’s secrets?

Louis de Coma was a fascinating man, priest and some would argue, mystic. He was born in 1822 in the romantic medieval capital of Foix, in South West France. He was one of 9 children. His father was a famous architect in the region, as was his brother, who would later administer his ambitious building projects.

Louis de Coma was committed to the priesthood and was honoured with an invitation to study at Saint Sulpice in Paris. Sadly, he was denied the opportunity due to concerns that he would not return to the local community after his studies. Begrudgingly, he entered the Jesuit Seminary in 1844 at Saint Acheul in Amiens, at a time when the order was not well respected in France. As a Jesuit, de Coma concentrated on helping prepare people for their inevitable mortality; death. His training would soon prove valuable.

Louis de Coma.

Louis’s father passed away on Christmas day 1855, leaving his son a considerable inheritance in property. This included an estate called Le Carol in Baulou; an unassuming Ariège village tucked away along the D1 secondary road in the rolling hills west of Foix.

Foix: Birthplace of Father Louis de Coma.

Father de Coma appears to have been deeply inspired by his Jesuit training, for he expressed his religious devotion in elaborate and expensive building projects.  With the assistance and expertise of his brother, the diocesan architect, Louis worked tirelessly to construct an elaborate religious centre on his deceased father’s estate. The building projects were ambitious, and consisted of grandiose structures both above and below ground. The total expenditure of the development exceeded a half million gold francs; in other words, the humble priest had spent the modern equivalency of millions of dollars on the project.

The funding of the work does not seem to have been an issue for Father de Coma. In addition to contributions from his father's inheritance, and his brother's business, he was able to draw from the Foundation of Gethsemane, a fund he created with donations from those who had commissioned masses to be performed after their death. Adding to that, Father de Coma received a donation of 4,000 Francs from the Comte de Chambord, the pretender to the throne of France. The Comte would have been aware of de Coma's pro Monarchist position as well as the fact that he was ordained at Notre Dame de Liesse, an established centre of pilgrimage of the French Royal Family, as detailed in Lynn Picknett's excellent book, Mary Magdalene.

Le Carol In its glory.
The structure on the right remains (and is a B&B).
The church and fountain in the centre were demolished in 1956.

Remains of Father de Coma’s building works are still visible today, such as the hauntingly beautiful crypt of Mary Magdalene, with a statue of the penitent Magdalene presiding over a pool of water believed by de Coma to possess magical powers.

The hauntingly beautiful crypt of Mary Magdalene.

A short distance from the Magdalene crypt is the burial tomb of the De Coma family. The evocative underground mausoleum is symbolically connected via an alignment that bisects all of the primary religious structures in Carol. But more on that in a moment.

The straight path leading from the Magdalene Crypt (in the distance) to the de Coma Family Crypt (not pictured).

The de Coma family crypt requires permission to enter, and that’s just as well, for it’s difficult to find and somewhat dangerous to navigate. The crypt is guarded by a statue of a menacing water gorgon and is full of tunnels, open tombs and vaults, as well as natural stalagmites acquired from nearby caves and caverns. It also includes a provocative statue of Jesus, which is curiously depicted turning away from the tomb of Louis de Coma, as if portraying the Masonic 3rd Degree Sign.

The Water Gorgon at the entrance to the de Coma Family Crypt.

Entering the de Coma family crypt.
Surrounded by real, albeit imported stalagmites.

Statue of Jesus turning away from Louis de Coma’s tomb.
(De Coma’s tomb is on the lower right).

De Coma built even more elaborate structures above ground. On top of the hill he constructed a chapel with a life size representation of the 12th Station of the Cross; Christ dead on the cross. The other 13 Stations were represented by large metal plates, adorned in individual chapels and carefully positioned on the hill leading from the Magdalene Crypt up to the chapel. Behind the chapel are the remains of two large and apparently ancient underground tombs. The curators of the Carol estate, now a seasonal Bed and Breakfast, believe that the tombs predate everything else on the estate, but are not aware who or what once occupied them.

The chapel on the hill: The 12th Station of the Cross and the start of the Father de Coma Alignment.
Behind the chapel are two ancient tombs.

Father de Coma built a variety of monastic buildings. While some still stand, most have been reduced to rubble. He created a massive garden that he called Gethsemane, named after the location of the Passion of Christ, and built a stylish church in its grounds. He imported vegetation indigenous to the Holy Land, although the French climate proved inhospitable and the plants soon died.

The church bares a striking resemblance to its more famous counterpart in Lourdes. Researcher and author Philip Coppens points out in his insightful study of de Coma that construction on the church in Carol predates that of Lourdes; suggesting that the building works of the humble priest were not only respected and admired throughout the region, but mimicked as well.

De Coma orientated the church to North East, which is unusual. The reason for this is unclear, but what is certain is that the primary religious structures in Carol form what I call the Father de Coma Alignment; a North-Easterly orientation spanning over a kilometer in length.

A map of De Coma's Estate.

The alignment starts with the chapel on the hill (12th Station of the Cross) and runs through the Magdalene Crypt, the De Coma Family Crypt, the ruined Church of Gethsemane, and across a field to the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Baulou. Curiously, before the alignment arrives at the church of Saint Mary Magdalene’s in Baulou, it bisects an unmarked grave and tombstone in the church parking lot. The tomb is in fact none other than the relocated resting place Father de Coma.

Louis de Coma – buried in unhallowed ground in the Baulou Church parking lot.

The Father de Coma alignment is the only thing that makes sense of the fact that the priest has been moved from his family crypt to the parking lot of the church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Baulou, where he once preached. If the priest had been laid to rest in church cemetery, his tomb would not fall on the alignment. Needless to say, the priest now rests on unhallowed ground. And most curiously of all, this very pious man, renowned throughout France for his impassioned sermons, is buried in an unmarked grave. Except for a pentagram carved within a Cathar cross on the front of the tomb, there is no form of identification whatsoever. Intriguingly, beneath the tombstone are the remains of a much older grave, but whose?

A pentagram within a Cathar cross is all that marks the present tomb of Father Louis de Coma.

If we extend the Father de Coma alignment beyond his tombstone and into the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene some 40 meters in the distance, we intersect a statue of Joan of Arc. Is this coincidence or a reference to the Angelic Society? Ultimately, we are left with a puzzle; is the Father de Coma alignment a deliberate attempt to highlight matters of significance, or is it mere coincidence?

Joan of Arc – marking the end of the Father de Coma Alignment.
Is this a reference to the Angelic Society?

Now in his waning years, Father de Coma struggled to find patrons to inhabit his retreat. The Fathers of the Holy Spirit occupied it for a year or so, but abandoned it while de Coma was on pilgrimage to Lourdes, in 1886. The reason for their departure has never been clear.

Not surprisingly, Father de Coma soon became known as the ‘Hermit of Le Carol’, preferring to hold mass in his own church and not in Baulou, where he had preached since 1890. No doubt reflective of his age, de Coma was often observed walking around his estate dressed in his dead mothers clothing. Clearly, his better days had come and gone. By the time of the French separation of Church and State in 1904, Father de Coma was an old man. Three years later he retired from priestly duties, and four years after that, on November 14, 1911, Louis de Coma was found dead in his bed at the tender age of 89.

Anyone familiar with the mystery of Rennes-le-Château will quickly recognise the similarities between Louis de Coma and Bérenger Saunière, the priest who lived 30 years later and some 50 kilometers to the East. If unfamiliar, then a summary of their similarities will illustrate this point:

Note 1: Isaac ben Jacob is championing a new line of research that reveals that Bérenger Saunière was part of the Perpignan based La Sanch society that existed to ensure that a person’s soul goes to heaven regardless of the quality of life they led. La Sanch priests would perform rituals on the individual’s body after their death to facilitate this, for a rather large fee.

The Stations of the Cross

With respect to Louis de Coma and Bérenger Saunière it is easy to create similarities, even where none exists. This is especially true of two individuals who shared the same vocation (men of God) and lived in the same region at the same time. It’s much like finding similarities between David Beckham and Tiger Woods; each has the same source of wealth (Sports), similar endorsements, houses, life styles, etc. Occam’s Razor would concur that most of these similarities are mere coincidence. But is that fair?

Regretfully, only fragments of Father de Coma’s prized building projects now remain. Sadly, this stems from the fact that the priest died without a will, thus by default he bequeathed his estate to the Bishop, who would have some ominous plans of his own, as we shall see. The absence of a will was not unusual in those days. For instance Father Jean Vié, the priest in Rennes-les-Bains around the same time is said to have died without a will, prompting his family to intervene and adjust the date of his death in order to transfer the land into their name. Some say this is why the 17th of January is etched on his tombstone, when in fact he died prior to that time.

Years later, in 1956, the Bishop did something quite bizarre. He ordered the Carol estate to be destroyed by dynamite. The rational, although not entirely clear, appears to have been based on the belief that unsavory religious cults would inhabit the estate if it were not demolished. Once the dynamiting was completed, only a few structures remained intact, and most of those were underground.

Intriguingly, 1956 was a pivotal year in the creation of the modern day Rennes-le-Château mystery. For a start, it was the year that the story first broke, courtesy of Noel Corbu, the business man who purchased Bérenger Saunière's estate from Maria Denuraud (the priest’s helper) on the 22nd of July (the feast day of Mary Magdalene), 1946. Corbu’s 1956 interview in the South of France Dispatch newspaper spoke of a priest who had discovered an immense treasure in Rennes-le-Château. Not surprisingly, Corbu had just opened a hotel in the village and his goal is likely to have involved tourism.

In the same year Pierre Plantard was busy creating an organisation called the Priory of Sion, named after the mountain ‘Sion’ in his home town in France. Plantard and the newly created Priory of Sion would go on to produce quite a stir and as they say, the rest is history; pseudo history anyway.

Father de Coma completed his building works in 1885, the same year that Father Saunière began work in Rennes-le-Château. While Father Coma’s building initiatives were highly successful, another local priest was struggling to complete the restorations he had only just started.

Just a few kilometers down the road, 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 Father 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.

Father Rousse’s commemorative memorial – Raynaude Church.

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.

Notre Dame de Raynaude.
Louis de Coma’s Stations of the Cross adorn the hill above it.

Notre Dame de Raynaude.
The village of Maury, with its evocative cliff side statues of Mary Magdalene in the distance – down the road to the left.

The church of Raynaude; from inside a Station of the Cross chapel.

A Calvaire / Chapel containing a Station of the Cross.

The Stations of the Cross are remarkable. They are constructed using heavy, metal molds, and are approximately three feet long and two feet wide. All but Station 12 (Christ Dead on the Cross) is present, as this Station was represented by a chapel complete with life size replicas on the hill in Carol, where it remains to this day. At Raynaude, Station 12 is represented by a simple, humble cross.

An example: Station 13 (front and back).

A close up of the engraving on the back of Station 13.
Note that ‘79’ is written larger and stylistically different than ‘81’.

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