Change of Bishop

On 3rd December 1901, Monseigneur Billard, the Bishop of Carcassonne, died. At the time, he was in the process of being suspended from his position, for “having administered the assets of his diocese in the most irregular fashion and for having contracted staggering debts, which were completely unjustified”²⁵. This was a blow to Saunière, the repercussions of which would be felt increasingly strongly for the remainder of his life. Without such a powerful protector, Saunière’s activities would come under scrutiny. But at present, the curé continued with his trafficking in Masses, spending vast amounts of money, deluding himself that there would never come a reckoning.

A new Bishop was appointed – Monseigneur Paul-Felix Beauvain de Beauséjour, whose political sympathies leaned to the Republicans. Saunière could expect no tolerance from him concerning his activities, but he hoped to keep those activities private. The Bishop was a busy man – surely he would not bother with a village curé!

Bills and belvedere

By 1906, much of the Villa and Tour Magdala were complete. The elaborate gardens, completed by 1908, became a verdant and well-watered extravaganza, watered from the cisterns built into the basement of the belvedere. It should be noted the costs incurred by Saunière were not paid instantly, but over time. That he was having difficulties in balancing his expenditure with the money he gained through Mass trafficking and donations is clear by the letters that are preserved from tradesmen, indicating that Saunière had quibbled over their quotations:

The bill presented by the Clerk of Works for work on the gardens and belvedere, including the delivery of many tons of soil (a total coming to 10,305 francs) was paid in stages. The bill for the furnishings installed in the Villa Béthanie and Tour Magdala was settled over several years – again in stages. This gives us reason to suppose that the other bills (now lost) were paid in the same way – in stages, as Saunière received amounts of money through his trafficking in Masses, rather than in a lump sum as would have occurred had Saunière access to a great and secret treasure.

Family estrangement

Meanwhile, Saunière had been estranged from his family since the death in 1905 of his brother Alfred. He refused to take any part of the responsibility in caring for his mother, and his sister Mathilde in particular was outraged by his behaviour. She and her husband took Bérenger to court in 1906, to force him to either take care of his mother for three months, or pay three francs a day for three months to contribute to her care. Saunière’s unbelievable response was a letter sent to the court (drafted by Marie on his behalf) claiming that he could not afford this amount. The court was not fooled, and he was ordered to pay. This only increased Saunière’s bitterness towards his family – whatever caused the original acrimony is unknown (although in his will, Saunière speaks of “…the lack of confidence I have in my relations whose conduct has been reprehensible on the death of my brother Alfred…”)²⁶, but that it was exacerbated by Saunière’s incredible and unexplained wealth in conjunction with his meanness towards his family is certain.