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With the international success of the bestselling novel
The DaVinci Code, esoteric subjects have been enthusiastically
received by a large audience. But that audience does not
realize information about the "Priory of Sion"
presented in The DaVinci Code as "fact"
is a fraud. Nor do the readers realize why that fraud was
created and the reason why its existence has been maintained.
Those who have embraced the novel's subject matter will
be shocked to find by believing The DaVinci Code
claim that the "Priory of Sion" and its fabrications
are real, they are embracing the hate and fear filled mindset
of religious fanatics. The following pages are the first
serious attempt to explain the secret "why" of
the "Priory of Sion" fraud and the real goals
its animators are trying to achieve.
Every person is the product of their environment and their
experiences, and the traits exhibited by the so-called "Priory
of Sion" are the products of intellectual constructs
and life experiences from a particular period carried onward
by the "Priory of Sion" founders and by its adherents.
It is valuable to review the often-overlooked recurring
themes at the foundation of the fabrications promulgated
by the "Priory of Sion." Those recurring themes
are more mundane than mystical:
* It is extraordinarily Franco-centric. From the point
of view of those behind the "Priory of Sion,"
France is the center of all key events which have shaped
Western history.
* It is intensely Catholic. The Catholic Church is a major
player in the "Priory" playbook. A sub-theme is
its portrayal of a recurring struggle for control of the
church itself.
* Names of modern Catholic Ultra-Traditionalists are alleged
as associates, supporters, and key members of the "Priory
of Sion" and select Catholic Ultra-Traditionalist organizations
are alleged to be, or proudly proclaimed as, predecessors
or implied fronts for the "Priory of Sion". (An
Ultra-Traditionalist Catholic may be defined as someone
who desires a return to a Catholic Church with pre-1960
institutions but more influence in spiritual, political,
and personal affairs than in the past.)
* European politics appear repeatedly, but in relation to
the Roman church.
* Monarchical restoration.
* Esoteric and Masonic allusions appear like a set in
a play, a backdrop to the other five recurring themes.
Through these recurring themes we will come to see the
"why" of the "Priory of Sion."
While the tumultuous French cultural events of the 19th
century raged - the constantly changing government and roles
of royalty and the Catholic Church, the visible rise of
esoteric studies as a cultural force in France, and the
smothering atmosphere of the industrial revolution - one
more critical change was fast evolving. The role of the
Catholic Church throughout Europe was in astonishingly sudden
transition, and that transition was a decline in power and
in influence. Everything seemed to assail the Roman church
in a sustained onslaught. In Italy, it was stripped of its
role as a true landed state and of its worldly political
influence. In its place, new democratic forces and a new
societal order arose. The spiritual influence and temporal
wealth and power of the French Catholic Church were castrated.
In every old Catholic stronghold, once inconceivable governmental
restrictions altered the traditional role of the church.
Throughout Europe a generation of scholars employing new
methods of academic inquiry were questioning and rewriting
the very foundations of belief on which the Papal throne
and church power had been constructed. As a response, the
doctrine of Papal infallibility was created, and asserted,
but it was laughed at. Even the fearsome power of the Inquisition,
so recently the scourge of Europe and the ruthless enforcer
of Papal will, withered rapidly and became a paper ghost.
As a series of apparitions of the Virgin Mary were reported
across France in the 19th century from Lourdes to La Salette,
the power and influence of the church was crumbling in its
own hands. No one seemed to realize this was the real end
of the Middle Ages. The ancient institutions were finally
confronted with the inevitable reality of time and change.
But many conservatives among prelates and the devout could
not accept this change. For them, the church was the only
legitimate source of worldly power. Men were lost without
its authority. They could not accept that the structures
of the Middle Ages had come to the end of their time. For
almost 2,000 years, the Church had maintained its power
and influence. It had outlasted dynasties and nations. How
could such a fall from power and grace happen to the elect
of God? How could the world have turned against them so
suddenly? The only answer could be hidden adversaries. And
those adversaries were readily found. Freemasonry had become
a publicly visible influence in Europe. Masons actively
worked to lessen the power of Royalty, the Church's traditional
ally. Masonry advocated equality and freedom of religions,
equal rights for all social classes, and the separation
of church and state. Masonic lodges supported the rise of
constitutional democracies - whose spokesmen and elected
officials often happened to be Freemasons. Freemasons were
successful in the new, rising commercial class. Freemasons
supported the publication of esoteric books such as the
H.P. Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled, and The Secret
Doctrine. All these things were anathematic to the Church's
sense of the right order of the universe. It was evident
that Masonry was a tool of the Devil. Masonry was the archenemy
of the church. And the more open Masonry became, the more
other esoteric societies seemed to appear from hiding. And
then, there were always the Jews.
In 1877, H.P. Blavatsky published Isis Unveiled.
The New York World described it as "an extremely
readable and exhaustive essay upon the paramount importance
of re-establishing the Hermetic Philosophy in a world which
blindly believes it has outgrown it". The opening words
of the author's preface confirmed the worst fears of the
Catholic Traditionalists by stating "The work now submitted
to public judgment is the fruit of a somewhat intimate acquaintance
with Eastern adepts and study of their science. . . . It
is an attempt to aid the student to detect the vital principles
which underlie the philosophical systems of old." Not
only were the philosophical systems of old examined, but
they introduced the books' wide readership to what Blavatsky
claimed were Hidden Masters guiding the destiny of humanity.
Unfortunately, none of the Hidden Masters proved to be Catholic.
Rather inconveniently, they all seemed to be from Somewhere
In The Far East. To compound matters, when Blavatsky published
The Secret Doctrine in 1888, her preface emphasized
that while her work might be appear to be Eastern, it was
not about any religion, but rather about the truths which
under girded all faiths.
Blavatsky's books symbolized the new ideas and heretofore
seemingly hidden wisdom that created a cultural explosion
and found a receptive and long-suppressed lay audience.
For years the complacency and authoritarian power of the
Catholic Church had inbred corruption, and abuses had worn
on its lay people like a yoke. Periodic internal efforts
to reform it were met with opposition. Of more concern to
the church was the priest who strayed from the official
church position. They were subject to harsh internal punishments.
Orders sprang up inside the church to fight its external
enemies but also to police its own. In 17th century France,
a group called the Compagnie du Saint Sacrement arose. A
genuine secret society, its real aims were understood by
no one and it seemed to frighten just about everyone, from
the church to the state. Eventually it was disbanded, to
the relief of all. It has been accurately described as "a
bastion of rigidly entrenched and fanatical orthodoxy"
that "devoted itself to weeding out heretics".(1)
It was a precedent as much intellectually and spiritually
as physically for the groups which would fight to restore
the Roman church's traditional role in midst and aftermath
of the chaos that the 19th century created for the Catholic
church. Centuries later the "Priory of Sion" would
make references to the Compagnie du Saint Sacrement and
regard itself as its heir.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries the ardently faithful,
in particular Royalist Catholics and some members of the
priesthood, fought back fiercely against what they perceived
as worldly depredations against the rightful position and
prerogatives of monarchy and the church. In Rome, in the
heart of the Vatican itself, a secret society called Sodalitum
Pianum was formed under the direction of Monsignor Umberto
Benigni. Benigni sacrificed his rising clerical career and
his future role in the Society for the Propagation of the
Faith to found and run Sodalitium Pianum. The basic function
of Sodalitum Pianum was to gather information for key Curia
officials - the Vatican administration - and for the Pope
on what was actually happening inside the Church. It received
its support from several influential Cardinals and from
the defender of traditional Church privileges, Pope Pius
X.
Sodalitum Pianum was for all intents and purposes a secret
police force. Its job was to fight the challenge posed by
Modernism to the traditional church teachings. Internally,
it would make rebellious priests march to the dictums of
the church hierarchy, and it hunted to uncover any sources
of internal heresy. It was founded in 1909 and terminated
in 1914, when Pius died. But it was reborn in 1915 and continued
until 1921, when it was formally disbanded. Despite formal
cessation of its activities, the heritage of Sodalitum Pianum
would continue. As Sodalitum Pianum waged its battle from
Rome, in France another Catholic secret society thrived.
It had appeared some thirty-six years earlier. The roots
and the ideas of the latter day "Priory of Sion"
come directly from this group, the Hiéron du Val
d'Or.
The Force Behind the "Priory of Sion"
In 1873, the very curious organization called Hiéron
de Val d'Or was founded. It made its base near the Catholic
shrine at Paray-le-Monial. Here, two centuries earlier,
the mystic St. Marguerite-Marie Alacoque beheld visions
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, beginning the Catholic devotion
to the Sacred Heart. Paray-le-Monial had a long history
within the Catholic Church. The first of several monastery
facilities, a Benedictine abbey, was established there as
early as 973. Later, the area seemed to foster Protestants,
and in 1618 the Jesuits were called upon to save the faithful
from the usurpers. The Jesuits had remained at Paray-le-Monial
ever since and the Sacred Heart became the paramount devotional
symbol for the Jesuit Order, which was consecrated to the
Sacred Heart in 1872. (2) Paray-le-Monial was an important
point on the Jesuit compass and at least one member of the
Society of Jesus would become a key founder of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or. At Paray-le-Monial the Hiéron du Val
d'Or built a museum and research center in 1877 and housed
itself in a pentagonal building reflecting the Hiéron's
interest in geometry and sacred architecture. Long established
as a Catholic pilgrimage site, from 1873 onwards Paray-le-Monial
began to attract more visitors. Thousands Catholics from
all walks of life journeyed to Paray-le-Monial in devotion
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, hoping to stem the changes
of the times. The Hiéron du Val d'Or deliberately
targeted these pilgrims as its potential recruits.
Victor Drevon, a Jesuit priest, and a nobleman from Spain,
the Baron Alexis Sarachaga, were the two key founders of
the Hiéron. In 1854, Drevon, then 34 years old, established
the Association of the Communion of Reparation in the ancient
monastery and Jesuit base at Paray-le-Monial with the purpose
of atonement, or reconciliation, of man and God through
the mediation of Jesus. For his part, the wealthy Baron
Sarachaga was a devoted but esoterically oriented Catholic.
His family linage claimed the famed mystic, St. Teresa of
Avila, and he was a personal friend of the besieged Pope
Pius IX and his successor Leo XIII. Drevon brought the focus
and discipline of the Jesuits to the Hiéron, and
Sarachaga brought his wealth, his influential Vatican and
social connections, and his odd Catholic/esoteric orientation,
which the Hiéron proclaimed as esoteric Christianity,
or Christian Hermeticism. As the spiritual head of the Hiéron
and titular head of its church approved school, the Insititut
des Fastes ("Fastes" refers to Roman calendar
church feast days), Sarachaga would dedicate the last forty
years of his life to the Hiéron, until his death
in 1918. It would be become a forge in which the shock troops
of the anti-Masonic and anti-occultist Catholic Ultra-Traditionalists
would be molded and it would reflect Sarachaga's eclectic
ideas.
The Hiéron du Val d'Or focused on propagating a
very Catholic focused worldview, born in the church-challenged
circumstances of the times, encompassing the occult and
the monarchy, and a return to worldly glory for the church.
It countered occultist's claims of a universal tradition.
To the Hiéron, the only universal tradition was a
Catholic Christianity, which was, like Atlantis, lost, and
which must be rediscovered. The Hiéron version of
Christianity traced directly back to an idealized vision
of Atlantis via the Celts, Judaism, and Egypt. Christianity,
according to the Hiéron, originated in Atlantis and
was itself the universal tradition. Atlantis, the legendary
lost civilization at the root of humanity became, to the
members of the Hiéron, an idealized vision of the
world as it should be, and a code word embracing every aspect
of their vision. As proof of this heritage, the Hiéron
revealed to its adherents the name Aor-Agni (Light-Fire),
that it claimed opened the secrets of all knowledge of the
universe, as taught in its school.
As important to the Hiéron and its members as rediscovering
its version of the lost Catholic heritage by preserving
Celtic sacred sites, and by studying symbolism, astrology,
and a peculiarly Catholic Kabbalah, was the heritage of
the future. The Hiéron was obsessed with preparing
for the year 2000. That was when the golden time would come
- an absolute monarch would rule Europe and, eventually,
the world. The Great King, the worldly reign of Christ the
King. And the Vatican would be supreme again, together with
this King. The Pope and the King would rule by fiat over
a United States of Europe. Their dictums would be absolutely
obeyed. Behind them would stand a secret elite, powers behind
the throne in the service of Christ, "eminences grises
from whom the great of this world seek counsel." -
as the latter-day "Priory" would try to depict
itself. (3) The Hiéron wanted, as onetime Plantard
associate and later adversary Jean-Luc Chaumeil wrote, "a
theocracy, wherein nations would be no more than provinces,
their leaders but proconsuls in the service of a global
government consisting of secret elitists. For Europe the
regime of the Great King implied a double hegemony of the
papacy and the Empire... . . "(4). And the devoted
members of the Hiéron were dedicated, willing to
sacrifice and work to achieve these goals.
The Hiéron had another purpose, a secret one. It
secretly and forcefully advocated that Masonry was an anti-Christian
movement requiring reformation. A secret and sacred war
must be fought against Freemasonry by the church and its
phalange, the Hiéron, a war which would give birth
to a new and "Christian Freemasonry of the Great West"
(5), or the "Occident". For Catholic Ultra-Traditionalists,
the Grand Lodge of French Masons and claims for an ancient
common spiritual primacy in books like Blavatsky's would
be replaced by a "Grand Occident Lodge" and the
spiritual primacy of Catholic Christianity. "Occident",
too, grew to become a key password for the prolonged and
intense activities of the Hiéron's Catholic vanguard
to supplant Freemasonry with an Ultra-Traditionalist Catholic
creation. By overcoming the threat of occultists with a
creation which proved Catholic supremacy, they would bring
Masons and occultists back into the fold of the Catholic
church.
Great effort was made to clearly differentiate the teachings
of the Hiéron from those of other esotericists and
especially Freemasons. For the Hiéron and its followers,
Masonry had become corrupt. The corruption could be clearly
traced and even dated. Freemasonry had once been noble.
But the influence of the English had become too strong in
the late 18th century. The English branch had been corrupted
because it was dominated by Protestants. The Germans, too
had become corrupted, and this corruption eventually spread
to French Masonry. The corruption was caused by the Illuminati
of Bavaria - which had been led by a Jew! They had corrupted
Masonry and the French Revolution. To Hiéron acolytes,
the French Revolution was originated by the nobility and
the church who, because of their higher consciousness, deemed
it necessary to help their lesser evolved citizenry by graciously
and voluntarily surrendering all their privileges and powers.
But the revolution became twisted and violent because of
the influence of corrupt elements of Illuminati-dominated
Masonry. Masonry had, in fact, became a Jewish/Protestant
tool which overthrew the Catholic Church and the nobility
in France and laid virtual siege to the Vatican itself.
Any claims of a descent of Freemasonry from the Templars
were merely proof of its corruption, because the Templars,
too, had lost their way. But their positive principles survived
and were now embodied in the "Occidental Masonry"
advocated by the Hiéron. And so Freemasonry became
a hated symbol, a target which had to be reformed and replaced
by intentional and covert actions of the elite troops and
superior Catholic Hermeticists dispatched by the Hiéron
du Val d'Or.
But common pilgrims were not the only recruits sought by
the Hiéron. To realize its goals, the Hiéron
needed to attract an elite. And it did, drawing to it royalty
and the wealthy and many artistic and intellectual notables.
A very prominent intellectual drawn to the odd esoteric
spiritual recipe of the Hiéron was Louis Charbonneau-Lessay,
a well-born Catholic author and former priest. Charbonneau-Lessay
was widely known and acclaimed in scholarly, religious,
and esoteric circles for his research and writings on the
use of symbols in medieval Catholic times. His major work
on this subject, The Bestiary of Christ, is still
in print today. Charbonneau-Lessay actively sought esoteric
knowledge. From his studies he had concluded that the Templars
held a secret and special knowledge and he was drawn to
contact several secret societies and to the Hiéron
school to search for it.
When Drevon had died in 1880, Sarachaga increased his already
potent influence in the Hiéron and his ideas dominated
it for 38 more years. The activities of the Hiéron
were encouraged and its practices which seemed to conflict
with Catholicism were protected by Sarachaga's friends Pope
Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII. When Pius X became Pope in 1903,
the conflict between the church and state in France was
so intense that the Vatican needed Sarachaga and his devoted
followers more than ever. In 1903 the French church became
subject to state overview and in 1905 the Law of Separation
in France nullified Napolean's old agreement with the church.
The church lost its property and revenue in France, while
by 1907 on the spiritual and intellectual front Pius X was
so besieged by Modernism that he wrote a Papal Encyclical
against it. With the passing of Pius in 1914 and the beginning
of the First World War, the French Catholic Church was pushed
further away from its traditional prominence in French life.
And in 1917, six mystical visions of the Virgin Mary at
Fatima, Portugal, spoke of a new threat to the church from
Russia, and a mysterious Catholic end-times prophecy. All
these factors emphasized the need among Traditionalist Catholics
for a reformation of the Masonic-Jewish forces that to their
view were behind the devastating blows to church and royalty.
From 1910 throughout the turbulent time when First World
War raged, the symbolism of the Sacred Heart and related
symbols and spiritual aspects progressively gained prominence
in Catholic intellectual and religious circles. The monarchist
Abbé Felix Anizan had been focused on this subject
since 1909. In 1921, after the death of Baron Sarachaga,
Abbé Anizan started a journal called Regnabit
("He will reign"), Revue Universelle du Sacre-Coeur,
funded by a bequest from Sarachaga and supported by a number
of high ranking clerics. Its name referred to a prominent
Hiéron theme, the Kingdom of Christ coming at the
end of the Millennium. In 1922, at the request of Archbishop
Louis-Ernest Dubois of Paris, Charbonneau-Lessay began to
write for Regnabit, increasing his involvement and
interest in the work at the Hiéron.
René Guénon also came into prolonged contact
with the Hiéron at this time through Charbonneau-Lessay,
whose knowledge he wanted to share, and through their mutual
association with the anti-Masonic magazine, La France
anti-maconnique. And another figure who at the same
time began moving visibly into the orbit of the Hiéron
was Paul Le Cour. Years later La Cour would be alleged in
"Priory " publications as a friend of "Priory"
creator Pierre Plantard. In November of 1923, Le Cour began
an intense period of contact with the Hiéron du Val
d'Or through Jeanne Lepine-Authelain, an aging Hiéron
founding member.
In 1918, with the death of Sarachaga, three administrators
headed the daily affairs of the Hiéron, Gabriel de
Noaillat, Mathe Devuns, and their associate, Jeanne Lepine-Authelain.
Absent Sarachaga's powerful influence, internal church forces
critical of the practices and philosophy of the Hiéron
began to politic against it in church circles. As a defensive
measure the administrators increasingly moved the Hiéron
into more conventional Catholic circles. In 1925, the Hiéron
triumphantly received formal recognition from the Vatican
for the creation of the Feast of Christ the King. But by
February 1926, the three aging lay administrators passed
away. With Abbé Felix Anizan under mounting pressure
from church officials in France and in the Vatican to moderate
its practices, and no full-time administrators to run its
affairs, the Hiéron lost control of its facilities
at Paray-le-Monial. The Hiéron disappeared.
But while it may have disappeared as a physical entity,
the Hiéron's ideals continued without abatement.
Its work was carried on by those who adhered to Sarachaga's
original principles. In 1926, Le Cour quickly founded a
group called Societe d'Etudies Atlanteennes and its successor
"Atlantis" in 1927, to carry on the ideas of the
Hiéron. Also in 1927, at the age of 56, Le Cour began
to write books and publish a magazine trumpeting key Hiéron
and Sarachaga themes on Atlantis, astrology, and other metaphysical
subjects. His last book was published in 1955, after his
death, and just before the "Priory of Sion" was
born. Le Cour was regarded by the adherents of the Hiéron
as the spiritual heir to Baron Sarachaga, a leadership transition
symbolized by a particular Sarachaga ring Jeanne Lepine-Authelain
left to him.
In fact, the groundwork for this transition had been laid
in the contentious years after Sarachaga's passing. During
its last few years, the Hiéron was a hotbed of conflicting
esoteric topics molded in the vision of Ultra-Traditionalist
Catholicism. The esoteric intellectual and spiritual intensity
of the atmosphere at Paray-le-Monial is witnessed by the
presence of Charbonneau-Lessay and Rene Guenon, who were
drawn to the topics it studied. The rapid founding by Le
Cour, within four months after the loss of the Hiéron
facilities, of a well subscribed successor society to carry
on the ideas of the Hiéron, and Le Cour's publication
in 1927 of his first book perpetuating the key points of
Sarachaga's philosophy, speaks more of a determined plan
to continue the spirit and principles of the Hiéron
than an independent impulse. Le Cour's organization still
exists today, with some 3,000 members.
In 1922, as the future Hiéron program was being
conceived, Georges "Count Israel" Monti created
an esoteric society called the Groupe occidental d'etudes
esoteriques. Two unique characteristics of this group
clarify in light of the history and goals of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or and they foreshadow the principles behind the
later formation of the "Priory of Sion" and its
wartime incarnation, Alpha Galates. Those two characteristics
are the specific goal of reconciling esoteric orders with
the Catholic Church, and claiming a fictional affiliation
with occultist Alister Crowley. Claiming a fictional affiliation
- in short, lying - would later be raised to a new level
by the "Priory of Sion." But for a religious fanatic,
the end always justifies the means. For Monti's group, its
highly contradictory cover story served well for the real
purpose of Groupe occidental d'etudes esoteriques:
acting in the esoteric world to implement Hiéron
ideals to reform Masonry from within and reorient it under
the firm direction of Catholicism.
It is most likely that Monti was affiliated both directly
and spiritually with the Hiéron and that he was acting
on its behalf. His long affiliation with the devoutly Catholic
Josephine Péladan as his secretary and the goals
of Péladan's Order Rose-Croix Catholique of the Temple
and the Grail, founded in 1891 to reveal the mysteries and
prepare for the coming of Christ are also perfectly in keeping
with the goals of the Hiéron. The Jesuit educated
Monti moved in overlapping circles with Paul Le Cour. Their
mutual interests seem to coincide - a study of Anthroposophy;
an interest in its predecessor, Theosophy; an affiliation
with Péladan's Order of the Rose-Croix Catholique;
and very strong anti-Semitism. Another important and revealing
similarity is an emphasis on political activity and reformation
of the body politic. If, as is advanced in this hypotheses,
Monti was acting on behalf of and in concert with the progeny
of the Hiéron, his documented breathless insistence
on meeting important people and being associated with secret
political operations are in keeping with activities the
Hiéron would seek out to reform the influence of
Masonry. All these activities would be necessary to win
control of Masonry and then use its presumed influence to
prepare for the coming kingdom in the year 2000.
The word "occidental" would later became a password
into the paradigm of the "Priory of Sion." It
means the West, and specifically Western Europe. It is the
differentiator of the split in French Masonry. The Lodges
which were aligned with the tradition of French Masonry
were called "Orient". The lodges aligned with
Catholic Traditionalists and which sought to bring Masonry
under the rule of Vatican Catholicism were called "Occident."
A Masonic reconciliation with the church was one of the
goals of the Hiéron du Val d'Or, and of Monti's group.
The Hiéron saw the future world run by a group of
elitists - their members. This is exactly the elitist role
sought by George Monti for himself, and it is how the successor
organizations, Alpha Galates, and later the "Priory
of Sion," would strive to position their image.
As a conscious and deliberate front for the work of Hiéron
adherents in implementing its goals of reforming Masonry
and reconciling it with the Catholic Church, the leader
of Groupe occidental d'etudes esoteriques would not
be inaccurately described by the Grand Lodge as a trafficker
in information and, given the Jesuit presence at Paray-le-Monial
and Jesuit involvement in the Hiéron formation and
activities, a Jesuit agent. In 1936, one year after his
close friend and associate Dr. Camille Savoire severed his
association with the Grand Orient Lodge and one month after
he was publicly so described by the Grand Lodge, Georges
Monti would die under mysterious circumstances and Groupe
occidental d'etudes esoteriques would disappear. Sixty
years later, the "Priory of Sion" would allege
Camille Savoire to have been one of its key members.
The next small person who would become enamored with the
ideals emanating from the world of the Hiéron would
be sixteen when George Monti died. He, too, would very soon
become the front man for groups carrying forward the cause
of the Hiéron, a cause he himself would come to adopt.
And he, too, would come to a sad end. His name was Pierre
Plantard.
The Education of Pierre Plantard
His father was a butler, killed in an accident while Pierre
Plantard was still young, but in middle age he would allege
his father was a member of the nobility. His mother, a sometime
cook for the wealthy, would support him well into adulthood
on a small pension received from his father's accident.
He was an unsuccessful student, not advancing beyond primary
school to higher or trade education, unemployed, drifting,
his only brief job as the sexton of St Louis d'Antin parish
in Paris.
In 1936, when Pierre Plantard, the future founder of the
"Priory of Sion," was sixteen, for the French
right and some devout Catholics a horrific event took place
- a Jewish socialist, Leon Blum became French prime minister.
Both his faith and his political orientation mobilized these
groups against Blum. In 1937, the young and poorly educated
Pierre Plantard suddenly became precociously politically
active when he tried to found an organization called "The
French Union" and to distribute a periodical "The
Renewal of France." His co-officers in The French Union
were very close to his own youth: Simone Gabrielle Brue,
and Andre Bergerand, both also born in 1920; and a secretary,
France Brubius, was three years older. (6) In that same
year, Paul Le Cour would publish a work on astrology, "The
Era of Aquarius," containing future predictions colored
by his dedicated Hiéron-focus.
In 1938, Plantard published and distributed for free "French
Renewal" a pamphlet with a circulation a 10,000. It
was printed by Poirer Murat, who later would print another
publication ostensibly for Plantard. Now 18, Plantard was
also active with Groupement Catholique de la Jeunesse, a
Catholic youth group. Supposedly he was involved in its
formation. By 1939 he was speaking to small gatherings sponsored
by this group, which arranged free holidays for young people.
In 1940 Plantard was writing directly to Marshall Pétain,
leader of the Nazi Collaborationist government at Vichy,
warning of a Masonic-Jewish plot. In 1941, French authorities
denied Plantard his application to found an organization
called "French National Renewal". According to
a 1941 police report, (7) Plantard was unemployed and supported
by his mother. They had lived together for fourteen years
in two sublet rooms, which were former maids' quarters.
But in 1942, Alpha Galates, an organization headed in name
by Plantard and alleging a substantial membership, made
its appearance, with its first issue of Vaincre,
an ardently pro-Vichy periodical featuring articles by a
number of prominent rightists on superficial esoteric, and
extreme right-wing political themes. Illustrated and produced
on good quality stock, it, too, was printed by Poirer Murat.
Where did the money come from to fund all these activities?
Obviously it did not come from Plantard or his mother.
By 1942, he was 22 and still unemployed. He had a minimum
of formal education. Most of the police reports about his
activities from this wartime period when political activity
was investigated dismiss him as an eccentric. But a 1945
police report on Alpha Galates, provides an insight in its
list of the officers theoretically serving with Plantard
on its leadership committee. They were Jacques Theureau,
Alpha Galates vice president, an actor living with his parents
and one year younger than Plantard; Suzanne Libre, its secretary,
two years younger than Plantard, and living with her parents
while studying acting; and Jules Tisser, the Treasurer of
Alpha Galates. He was 24 years older than Plantard, a childless
WWI veteran employed as the chief accountant at a manufacturing
firm. (8)
The dreary police report is oblivious to Jules Tisser.
He is like an invisible man. Accountants sometimes are.
But it is an odd circumstance that a man old enough to be
Plantard's father and holding a responsible position would
be associated with a group of young people in a chimerical
organization. And that he would gladly submit to the leadership
of its illustrious chief, Plantard, who police reports saw
as an "odd young man"(9) and a "deranged
individual"(10). Wartime France was a difficult economic
period. Why would a chief accountant - a very good job in
a time of high unemployment - risk his position by involvement
in the enterprise of Alpha Galates if it were just the immature
work of a few politically impassioned but confused young
people?
But if a group of determined adults impassioned about its
religious concepts being implemented in society were promoting
a young front man to send its message and spending scarce
funds on free publications, they would want one of their
numbers involved to watch the puppets. And to count the
money. Someone like an older and very experienced accountant.
The unemployed, devoutly Catholic Pierre Plantard was a
front man for older people dedicated to the concepts of
the Hiéron du Val d' Or. He did not have the money
to pay for and distribute multiple runs of 10,000 copies
for his first publication, nor for the 1300 to 4500 free
copies claimed by the six issues of the illustrated Vaincre.
Nor did a young man of 22 - even an unemployed one with
a lot of time on his hands - have the knowledge to write
all the Vaincre articles by himself nor to understand
obscure esoteric references in some Vaincre articles.
But older men who adhered to the concepts of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or did.
In the first issue of Vaincre is a particularly
interesting illustration that reveals the real sources for
this publication and the puppet masters behind it. It shows
a solitary horseman in Celtic dress carrying a flag and
riding into a distant sunrise, which reads "1946"
and is labeled with the symbol of Aquarius - the time of
the coming of the Great Monarch. Either side of the road
he rides is labeled "Bavaria" and "Brittany".
The start of the road is labeled "1937". On the
rider's flag is a symbol called the Cross of the South.
And the road he rides is labeled "United States of
the Occident."
It is debatable whether young Pierre Plantard could have
created this illustration. It sums up too neatly the philosophy
of the real animators behind Alpha Galates. 'Occident,"
or West, is a term closely associated with Ultra-Traditionalist
Catholic efforts to reform Masonry into alignment with the
Catholic Church. A United States of the West is the vision
of a western European super government under the hegemony
of France. It is the vision of Hiéron du Val d'Or.
A Celtic rider affirms the Hiéron emphasis on its
ties to Celtic traditions. The Cross of the South is in
keeping with the Hiéron's interest in symbology:
a cross with a heart is a specifically Hiéron symbol,
and the Cross of the South relates to another Hiéron
interest, a Catholic oriented astrology. In 1942, few people
would have knowledge of the meaning of this symbol, or of
its existence unless they were well steeped in the teachings
of the Hiéron du Val d'Or. Young Pierre Plantard
would not have known the workings these concepts. As a front
man, he would have sat admiring and obedient at the feet
of men who helped mold the effort to see the ideals of the
Hiéron become reality.
Several other factors confirm that this illustration, Alpha
Galates, and its front man Pierre Plantard were creatures
of Hiéron acolytes. Young Plantard was involved with
Catholic youth groups and was said to be the leader of one
which provided free vacations for Catholic youth. In 1920,
the Jesuits formed the Catholic Scouts youth group and,
later, the Catholic Rover Scouts to inculcate young people
with proper religious and political values. At the same
time, Abbé Felix Anizan of the Hiéron formed
a youth group to recruit young people to the Hiéron,
a group referred to by Paul Le Cour in his 1920's writings
as a force to be used in helping to bring Hiéron
policies to a future reality. The youth group with which
the young Pierre Plantard was associated was modeled along
these lines. Alpha Galates, by its constitution, was anti-Masonic
and anti-Semitic, confirming the presence of Hiéron
values. Like key people associated with Hiéron ideals,
Plantard would be repeatedly confirmed by police reports
as anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic. (11) By coincidence, both
of Plantard's publishing ventures involved the same printer.
And while the later well-known Robert Amadou may have claimed
to discontinue his work with Alpha Galates, he was associated
with, and published in, Le Cour's journal Atlantis.
In the issues of Alpha Galates' Vaincre, Robert
Amadou and Pierre Plantard echoed the philosophy of the
Hiéron. As Amadou would write for Vaincre,
Chivalry (meaning traditional non-Masonic Orders ) belonged
" . . . not in opposition to the Church, but within
the heart of it"(12). Plantard, or someone writing
under his pseudonym of Pierre de France, would take the
neo-fascism of the Hiéron and the French far right
to an extreme by proclaiming, "I want Hitler's Germany
to know that every obstacle to our own plans does harm to
him also, for this is the resistance put up by Masonry that
is undermining German might."(13) Like Amadou, he would
write of the new face the Hiéron followers saw for
the esoteric orders that foreshadowed the "Priory of
Sion" hoax: " . . . what happened after the disappearance
of [the last Templar Grand Master] Jacques De Molay will
no longer hamper our progress since from now on the orders
will be kept in existence."(14)
Last is astrology. It figured in the world of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or and more prominently in the post 1926 expressions
of its teaching. Paul Le Cour was an important figure in
the development of French astrology in the twentieth century.
Of his eleven books, his most revised and reprinted work
was "L'Ere du Verseau" ("The Era of Aquarius").
It was first published in 1937 using different astrological
processional calculations than those in vogue at the Hiéron
base at Paray-le-Monial. Le Cour announced his calculations
saw the beginning of a key period in 1937- 1946. This was
the period which Alpha Galates, the front for the followers
of the Hiéron and predecessor of the "Priory
of Sion," specifically indicated by the dates in the
illustration in their publication, Vaincre. Le Cour
himself is specifically referenced in the same first issue
of Vaincre as Paul Lecourt, a punctuation closer
to his real name, Paul Lecour.
The activities of this group faded in the last years of
the war. Soon the older leaders passed on. But Plantard
and others dedicated to their secret, carried on their ideas.
In 1947, Paul Le Cour and writers sharing the Hiéron
philosophy called for the creation of a new order of knighthood,
and in 1947 Plantard formed a new group for the purpose
of "historical research," The Latin Academy. In
1956, following the death of Paul Le Cour, Plantard legally
formed the "Priory of Sion".
In the 1950's Plantard began to appear at the old Celtic
religious site of Rennes-le-Chateau, researching the background
that would create the "Priory of Sion" fiction.
Gradually both fictional documents and new editions of "Priory"
publications appeared. These "Priory documents"
reproduce the positions of Alpha Galates and the Hiéron,
including calls for a United States of Europe. These are
a clear indication that the "Priory of Sion" program
issues from the Hiéron principles. It shows that
Plantard and the followers of his generation of Hiéron
acolytes had no interest in new ideals. Plantard tried to
relink with his earlier associates and successfully joined
with Philippe Chérisey, who he had first met in 1938.
Other "Priory" articles would tie Plantard with
names of people from the wartime years, key people associated
with perpetuating Hiéron goals. Their citation affirms
the presence of the Hiéron du Val d'Or in its cadet
operation, the "Priory of Sion." These articles,
written by Plantard's first wife, associated Plantard reverentially
with Georges "Count Israel" Monti, Paul LeCour,
and one "Th. Moreux." (Abbé Theophilus
Moreux, a Jesuit, was a noted astronomer who wrote a book
on Atlantis. He was imprisoned in Frenes prison for his
resistance activities in 1943.). In 1962-65, the activities
of the "Priory" shifted into a higher gear as
its sought to capitalize on publicity from the Gisors affair
and began to deposit fabricated documents in libraries,
postdating them to the prior decade.
One example, which also illustrates how the Hiéron
descended "Priory" saw esoteric groups as a threat
and sought to control them in a manner similar to the original
Hiéron, is a fabricated document giving the fictitious
"Priory" Grand Master the title of Jean 23rd.
This title does not refer to the Catholic Pope, John XXIII.
Limited information appeared in esoteric circles in the
1960's about a small but genuine esoteric group whose Grand
Master bore that title. Using this name is an attempt by
the "Priory" to blend its identity with the real
organization to achieve what esoteric groups call "authority."
It shows how the "Priory" reacted to esoteric
activities posing a perceived threat to its goals. The fiction
of the Templars being subservient to an ancient "Priory"
was also conceived at this time to counter the revival,
with which the real group was associated, of interest in
the Templars. And, at the same time, the "Priory"
begin to associate itself with a new generation of Ultra-Traditionalist
Catholics, who held positions similar to Hiéron ideals.
On October 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII inaugurated the Second
Vatican Council, promising its result would "shake
the heavens and the earth." For parts of the Catholic
world, it did just that. John's successor, Pope Paul, expanded
the College of Cardinals, forced mandatory retirements,
reformed church practices and teachings, and endorsed the
council decision to hold mass in the vernacular. This tidal
wave of change increased "Priory of Sion" activity.
When internal critics of the church reforms spoke out in
open rebellion, the "Priory of Sion" claimed them
as its members. It specifically alleged as one of its own
a prominent critic of Vatican reform and an advocate for
a return to the church governance of the past that resembled
the vision of the Hiéron, Archbishop Marcel Lefevbre.
Lefebvre, who had a political predisposition to vocally
supporting repressive dictatorships, urged a return to the
Tridentine (Latin) mass and an end to Vatican council reforms.
He soon formed his own seminary and ordained his own priests,
in violation of Vatican rules. Lefebvre christened his opposition
organization the Sacred Society of Pius X (SSPX) in honor
of the turn of the century Pope who condemned Modernism
and instituted the Soldatum Pienum. For Lefevbre, this was
the model for the Church. His stance agreed with the end-times
scenario the Hiéron adherents saw rapidly approaching.
Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, Plantard and his "Priory"
rode a wave of publicity from inaccurate and fanciful books
about the Rennes-le-Chateau affair, which would become the
basis for The DaVinci Code. The "Priory"
continued to wave as its banner the themes of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or: the "Priory" as the ultimate authoritative
esoteric body representing a universal tradition that spans
western history; and the Grand Monarch, a coming of the
Christ embodied in their fantasy of the bloodline descended
from Jesus. As researchers Bernardo Sanchez da Motta and
Peter O'Reilly have shown, Hiéron du Val d'Or originated
documents and symbols reappeared on documents used to allege
a pedigree and a secret heritage for the "Priory of
Sion" hoax. (15) That hoax would be treated as fact
by the author of The DaVinci Code and its falsehoods
perpetuated in his novel.
Plantard supposedly resigned from the "Priory of Sion"
in 1984, but in 1989 reappeared to revive it. The reason
for this attempted return was because an important French
astrologer claimed 1989 would be a key year for world political
events. That made urgent the need to position Hiéron
ideals for the year 2000, a year the Hiéron saw as
the worldly return of Christ, the monarchy, and Church hegemony.
Instead 2000 was a year when Pierre Plantard would pass
away, he and his "Priory of Sion" having been
exposed in 1989 by a French judge as a fraud. Yet with the
passing of Plantard, still others have stepped forward to
attempt to carry on the myth of the "Priory of Sion".
But why would they continue this fiction?
The purpose of the "Priory of Sion" begins in
an adherence to the original fanatical, self-deluding precepts
set forward by the Hiéron du Val d'Or. Most specifically,
the mission of the "Priory" is to crush Freemasonry
and esoteric groups by replacing them with an Ultra-Traditionalist
version. To aid that process, they have created, in occultist
Anne Osmont's description of Monti's goal, an "illusory
society." Its purpose is to superimpose over Masonry
and esoteric orders an allegedly esoteric super-society
via a fabricated ancient lineage and claims to spiritual
primacy or "authority." In the minds of those
who to this day adhere to the programs of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or, this will bring Masonic and esoteric groups
under control of the Catholic Church, paving the way for
the Hiéron fantasy of the return of Christ as a worldly
ruler rushing in a restoration of Catholic Traditionalism,
monarchy, and Vatican power. Working to create the realization
of this fantasy is the secret purpose of the "Priory
of Sion" and the reason for its existence.
But this secret bears in it a tragedy of multiple meaning.
For over a hundred years, Masonry and Judaism have endured
attacks and terrible distortions of the truth by Hiéron
deluded fanatics. Now, because the immensely successful
novel The DaVinci Code presents as fact a "Priory
of Sion" which propagates the mad dreams of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or, a wide public has been exposed to a twisted
version of esoteric ideas that many may mistake for reality.
Instead of leading people to Christian ideals, the "Priory
of Sion" has led them away. The end result will be
as Anne Osmont wrote of Monti's group "to destroy all
which is dear and precious" to staunch Catholics and
esotericists alike. The lesson from the "Priory of
Sion" secret is an ancient one. It is in having the
integrity to find and follow one's own beliefs. For if we
allow fanatical minds like those behind a Hiéron
du Val d'Or or a "Priory of Sion" to define for
us the form and meaning of our beliefs, then we quickly
become captive to the twisted terrain created by those minds.
NOTES
(1) Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln. Holy
Blood, Holy Grail. Delacorte Press. New York. 1982,
p.148.
(2) Malachi Martin, The Jesuits. The Linden Press/Simon
& Schuster. New York. 1987, p. 218. Also see p.209.
(3) Baigent et. al. Holy Blood, Holy Grail, p. 196,
quoting an article in Priory publication Circuit.
(4) Baigent et. al. Holy Blood, Holy Grail. p. 172,
quoting Jean-Luc Chaumeil, Le Trésor du triangle
d'or. Paris. 1979, p. 139 ff.
(5) Pier Luigi Zoccatelli. "Notes on an unpublished
correspondence between René Guénon and Louis
Charbonneau-Lassay" A paper presented at CENSUR 99
conference, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, 1999. p.3.
(6) May 9, 1941 police report. It is also reproduced and
translated on www.priory-of-sion.com.
(7) Ibid. Also see February 8, 1941 police report.
(8) February 13, 1945 police report. It is also reproduced
and translated on www.priory-of-sion.com.
(9) Ibid.
(10) January 3, 1943 police report. It is also reproduced
and translated on www.priory-of-sion.com.
(11) June 6, 1946 and May 9, 1941 police reports. They
are also reproduced and translated on www.priory-of-sion.com.
(12) Robert Amadou, "The Place of Chilvary" Vaincre.
October 21,1942. This article is also reproduced and translated
at www.priory-of-sion.com.
It references the work of Paul Le Cour.
(13) Pierre de France-Plantard. "27 December 1942"
Vaincre. January 21, 1943. This article is also reproduced
and translated at www.priory-of-sion.com
(14) Ibid.
(15) Peter O'Reilly. "More on Paul Le Cour, The Hiéron
and the Priory" The Rennes Observer. June 2001,
pp.18-20. Bernardo Sanchez da Motta, "Pilhagem a Paul
Lecour" http://bmotta.planetaclix.pt/prieure2.html
SOURCES
(c) 2004 by Robert Richardson. All rights reserved.
Robert Richardson is the author of The Unknown Treasure:
The Priory of Sion Fraud and the Spiritual Treasure of Rennes-le-Château
(Houston, TX: NorthStar, 1998), available from Pratum
Book Co., PO Box 985, Healdsburg, California 95448, USA.
knowledge@pratum.com.
This article is published on Alpheus with the kind permission
of the author and will be included in a new edition of his
book The Unknown Treasure.
See also:
1) On the
"Priory of Sion," a collection of links relevant
to the historical truth regarding the "Priory of Sion"
2) A reaction
from Paul Smith.
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