The symbols found in Bérenger Sauniere’s Church reflect his activities whilst being the official priest of Rennes-le-Château between 1885 and 1909, when he was divested of his priestly duties by the Bishopric of Carcassonne for engaging in actions that breached the Bishopric’s authority and also committing financial irregularities.

Bérenger Saunère was a counter-revolutionary priest: opposing the secularising of Society by the French Republic – resisting the modern changes to the Church – Progressivism and Modernism being the heirs of Liberalism. Saunière opposed these changes at Rennes-le-Château with all his might and eventually faced the consequences. Sauniére was trapped in a situation where even the Vatican was unable to help him because it believed that Saunière’s case was a French case and therefore outside of its jurisdiction.

To Saunière the Republic symbolised the Force of Evil and he saw himself as the Force of Good, witnessing the French Roman Catholic Church as being in collaboration with the French Republic, being complicit in the erosion of Traditionalist Roman Catholicism.

Roman Catholic Traditionalists, regarding themselves as Counter-Revolutionaries, operate under the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saunière’s Devotion to the Virgin Mary is very much evident in his surviving sermons.

In 1885, when first arriving at Rennes-le-Château, Saunière was temporarily divested of his priesthood for preaching against the Republic during the Elections; then afterwards Mission 1891 became established representing an attempt to resist the continuing tide of modernism with the aid of fellow Lazarist priests from the Church of Notre Dame de Marceille; then in 1889, abbé Viscayé of Saint Ferréol attended at Rennes-le-Château the celebrations of the rite of Confirmation for the children – the St. Ferreol Monastery in Provence being where the Servants of Mary were based: devoted to the Passion of Jesus Christ and to the Seven Sorrows of Mary; then in 1899 when the Bishop put Saunière’s name forward for promotion it was rejected by the civil authorities on the grounds: "He professes anti-government views. Attitude: Militant reactionary. Negative recommendation."

The symbols found within Bérenger Saunière’s church at Rennes-le-Château reflect his political agenda and opposition to his Government.

The images of the Sacred Heart represented opposition to the Republic, equated with the Devil and Freemasonry – for in 1885 an anti-Republican Leaflet urging the clergy to oppose the Republic used the Sacred Heart as inspiration:

And the images of the intertwined letters "M" and "S" represented the symbol of The Servants of Mary, who alongside other Catholic Associations like The Lazarists would have supported various priests throughout France like Bérenger Saunière that opposed the French Republic:

Bérenger Saunière alluded many times in his Sermons to both the Blessed Virgin Mary and to The Seven Sorrows of Mary.

Therefore the story of Bérenger Saunière at Rennes-le-Château represents the History of the Third French Republic and his wealth becomes not so "mysterious" after all, especially considering how it was put to use – devoted to the glory of God and the Roman Catholic Church that was being undermined by the work of the Devil.