July saw the new curé arrive – Abbé Marty. The villagers, accustomed to Saunière’s oddities and extravagances, did not want the new Abbé. They refused to attend Mass in the church, but went instead to the chapel in the Villa Béthanie. In fact, the Mayor refused to hand over to the new curé the key to the Church!

Continued enquiries

Saunière was unaware that Bishop Beauséjour had lost patience and was preparing a case against Saunière for the Carcassonne ecclesiastical court. However, Saunière did begin to feel the pressure of the Bishop’s and the Vicar General’s constant correspondence enquiring into his affairs. He avoided giving any answers, and replied with evasive lies. His trafficking in Masses continued in spite of the scrutiny he must have known was cast upon his activities. Becoming worried, he drafted two rough copies of agreements dated three months previously, with the help of Abbé Le Vieu and a lawyer from Chalabre. In an effort to stave off accountability for the funds he had spent, the agreements purported to account for the sale of Saunière’s furnishings and other possessions to Marie Dénarnaud for 4,000 francs, and the sale of the land and buildings in Marie’s name from Marie to Saunière for 12,000 francs.³⁰

One may ask why Saunière wished to have the domain in his name at this time – a simple explanation is that, without the property being in his name, he would not be able to raise a loan in the event that he needed more money to hire a defence lawyer. He was right to be concerned. The very thing that he feared was to come to pass. But still he did not stop his trafficking in Masses. It seems inexplicable that he did not curtail these activities, but Saunière still half-believed that the problems would simply go away.

The Bishop and Masses

On the 18th and 22nd September respectively, Saunière received two letters from the Vicar General to inform him of letters sent to the bishopric from an official in the Pierre Larousse hospice in Paris, enquiring whether Abbé Saunière was trustworthy, as he had solicited Masses from the hospice. Saunière was struck with shock, and denied he had made any such solicitation. (Later he acknowledged that he had done so, but claimed it was in error, through some confusion.)

The first letter mentions the reply sent to the hospice – anything but flattering to Saunière.