The core mystery is simple. On June 1, 1885, 33-year-old Francois Berenger Sauniere was appointed parish priest of an ancient hilltop enclave in the Pyranees Mountains of southern France: Rennes-le-Chateau. Sauniere had been born and raised in the nearby hamlet of Montazels, where his father was mayor. Aside from a brief period teaching at the Narbonne seminary, he had held only a handful of clerical posts since his ordination in 1879. The brawny, athletic young priest didn’t react well to authority. In fact, his superiors removed him from Rennes-le-Chateau almost as soon he got there, for making anti-Republican statements in two of his sermons. He taught again at Narbonne for several months before being allowed to return.
Like all Catholic priests, Sauniere should have been a study in sacrifice. He had forfeited all rights to property, money, and fatherhood to be a spiritual guide.