The Stations of the Cross in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Château were installed in 1897. They were ordered from Giscard in Toulouse, apparently straight out of the catalogue. Read about the Giscard catalogue in this article. The shapes of the Stations is certainly not unique. At least one example is known where excatly the same mould was used. This is in St. Jean d’Alcas where they can still be seen today.
Nevertheless, Saunière’s Stations of the Cross have been cause for endless debate among researchers. What they debate is how they were painted. The priest was very meticulous about the decoration of the church and he certainly instructed his painters to the very last detail.
A few things have puzzled people. To name a few:
- The Stations are hanging inverted as opposed to almost all others in France. Exceptions are Perpignan and St. Sulpice.
- All Stations have the sign of the Masonic Rose-Croix sculpted onto their frames.
- There’s a Golden Griffin on Station I
- On Station to there’s a Gold helmet lying on the floor and a small ladder is reaching for the sky
- Station III shows an Arc in the sky. Arche in French is the same word as used for the Arche de l’Alliance or Ark of the Covenant
- Station XIV has a square white cloth in the background
- On Station VI, some say you can see the Tour Magdala through the opened door
- On Station X, a soldier thows two dice. We see one displaying 3 and 4 which is impossible and the other one shows a five. According to researcher Roger Boonaert this is part of a cryptogram Le Sot Pecheur. If you add up the total of the numbers of the abnormal dice (7) and the number of the Stations (10) you get 17, the number that constantly re-appears in the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château.
- Station XIV shows Jesus with a wound in his left side, where the bible says he was wounded on the right, the scene look like Jesus is carried out of the tomb by full moon rather than in it
A quick search on the internet will deliver many more details that are perceived to be anomalies.
the stations of the cross should make think about the development of the cross and it tells where you should look
Hi,
do you by any chance know what materials are used in the paintings (it looks like gouache on some kind of card) and statues?
Thank you
Hey Elena, I think it’s just plaster and paint. Did you have a look at the Giscard Catalogue?
Hi, thanks for you prompt reply. I’m sorry, I wasn’t referring to the ornaments on this page, which was just the nearest one I found to the paintings. What I’m interested in are the paintings by Saunière, the big one of Magdalene, for example. All his paintings are so out of proportion, the legs are a half or normal legs, the arms are completely unhuman, this sort of bad painters favour the oil, but it seems that Saunière’s paintings are so smooth that they must be gouache.