Roman Catholic priest in the French village of Rennes-le-Château, in the Aude region; officially from 1885 until he was transferred to another village in 1909 by his bishop, a nomination he declined; he subsequently resigned. From 1909 until his death in 1917 he was a non-stipendiary Free Priest (an independent priest without a parish, who did not receive any salary from the church because of suspension), and who from 1910 celebrated Mass at an altar constructed in a special conservatory by his Villa Bethania.
Saunière is a central figure in many of the conspiracy theories surrounding Rennes-le-Château. These speculations form the basis of several documentaries and books such as the 1982 Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Many elements of these theories were later used by Dan Brown in his best-selling 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, in which the fictional character Jacques Saunière is named after the priest.
Real name: François-Bérenger Saunière
Born: 11 April 1852 in Montazels, France
Died: 22 January 1917 in Rennes-le-Château, France
