The Accounting Report (1911)

The material is distributed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. From Mariano Tomatis.

With many thanks for Mariano in giving me permission to reproduce his excellent researches!

Saunière understands that he can no longer postpone the deadline for the delivery of the documents, and on 13 March he prepares a dossier consisting of a list of revenue for 193 thousand francs and 61 invoices₁

Individually taken into account in the previous chapters, the 61 invoices are almost entirely transcribed by Gilbert Tappa in Jacques Rivière, Le fabuleux trésor de Rennes-le-Château, Bélisane, Nizza 1983, pp. I-XXVI. A letter₂ is attached to the dossier in which the priest admits that the dossier cannot in any way be exhaustive, since many documents have been lost over the years; he claims to send all those in his possession, when in reality other invoices – including those showing expenses for wines, clothing and luxurious furniture – will be found in his possession after his death₃. Saunière also says that he had to abandon the idea of participating in the spiritual exercises organised in Carême precisely for the aforementioned health reasons, but as soon as his health allows it, he will fulfill the obligation at the Grand Seminary in Carcassonne. The list of revenue is divided into 26 very heterogeneous items:

Like the entries on the revenue list, the 61 invoices sent by Saunière are not in strict chronological order, but rather broken down by beneficiary; at the time of receipt, the commission of inquiry appointed by the Bishop and chaired by Jean Saglio numbers them as they appear ordered at reception:

To simplify the reading, here I have divided the amounts into two columns: the first relating to the expenses for the restoration of the church and the garden of Calvary, the second to the expenses for the construction of the domain; the commission of inquiry operates the same subdivision to assess which expenses are justified and which, instead, were made for purchases unrelated to ecclesiastical works. I have also highlighted in grey the amounts that should not be considered if you want to calculate a total sum, since these figures are already incorporated in other than those shown in black, or because they are duplicates of invoices already considered. Saunière's invoices are so messy that the Saglio Commission does not notice the various repetitions and duplications; if today we analyse the material delivered more accurately, we calculate a figure of 11585.84 F for church work and 24664.17 F for the domain& works, for a total of 36250.01 F

1. Individually taken into account in the previous chapters, the 61 invoices are almost entirely transcribed by Gilbert Tappa in Jacques Rivière, Le fabuleux trésor de Rennes-le-Château, Bélisane, Nizza 1983, pp. I-XXVI.

2. Transcribed in Rivière 1983, pp. 207-209.

3. Some of the invoices kept hidden from the Bishop were collected in Pierre Jarnac (edited by), Les Archives de l'abbé Saunière * 101 Documents reproduits d'après les originaux, Pégase, Perpignan 2002.

4. Invoice 57 includes expenses for both the church and the domaine

5. Considering all the figures, totals for the church and the domaine of 12453.85 F and 25578.68 F are obtained respectively (for a total of 38032.53 F).