The Church ignored Sauniere’s profligacy at first, but at the turn of the century the newly installed bishop of Carcasonne demanded to know where Sauniere was getting all this money. Sauniere provided a list of his expenditures, but flatly refused to divulge the source(s) of his wealth. He officially resigned on February 1, 1909, rather than account for his spending. By 1911 he was no longer a priest. The Church kept after him, though, and in 1915 he was sued for simony (the illicit selling of indulgences; basically, allowing people to buy their way out of sin). By the time of his death in 1917, Sauniere had resorted to selling religious medals and rosaries to the wounded soldiers stationed at Campagne les Bains. The well had gone dry.

Local legend said Sauniere found at least four mysterious parchments while restoring the church, possibly inside hollow pillars that supported the ancient stone altar. These parchments were presumed to be treasure maps that led him to the source of his wealth, but if they ever existed at all, they vanished. These legendary parchments would become the centerpieces of the theories that sprang up around Rennes-le-Chateau in the late 1960s.

Sauniere was rumored to roam the countryside with a shovel, overturning stones and pocketing small items. Some researchers have even speculated that he might have finagled an assignment to Rennes-le-Chateau expressly to hunt for treasure there. He engaged in a lot of strange behavior, such as digging up graves and moving them to the opposite end of the church cemetery for no apparent reason until the mayor asked him to stop.