The Statues - General Description

The arrangement of the statues in the church has been carefully thought out. Many of them face each other while others are arranged side by side.  Essentially they are also often arranged in groups of two. For the most part the statues have been placed between two stations of the cross and in the same way that the statues face each other, so do most of the stations of the cross. The obvious conclusion that can be drawn from this arrangement is that both statues and stations of the cross were probably organized to be interpreted in groups of two. The floor plan of the church helps to make the arrangement clearer:-

Before entering in to any analysis or interpretation I feel it best to take you on a short guided tour. First it is important to be aware of the lives of the saints included in the church since elements of these may play a vital role in understanding what it was that Saunière was trying to portray. Next I will provide a quick look at the statues and the stations of the cross. In this way you can get a first hand glimpse of the mind of Bérenger Saunière and try to comprehend the massive amount of imagery that he included in each design. The Statue of the Devil was described on the previous page.

Lives of the Saints depicted in the church

St. John the Baptist

St John the Baptist stands over someone whom he is apparently baptising. The inference is that the person is Jesus. St. John is dressed as a Roman which to say the least is highly odd. According to biblical descriptions he was always poorly dressed. The cross he holds in his left hand has a ribbon draped over the top. Notice the plinth that carries the letters Alpha and Omega. You will see as you progress through the site that Alpha and Omega appear in many places. The most interesting thing about this statue is that the person receiving the baptism appears to be assuming almost the exact position of the devil near the door only as a mirror image. St. John the Baptist has two commemoration days. The first is the 24th June which marks his birth and the second, which was adopted sometime after 1801, marks the date when he was beheaded, the 29th August.

St. Germaine

This statue shows Ste. Germaine. Although she was a shepherdess and lived in absolute poverty, it would be hard to guess this from the way she is dressed here. The sheep are about the only thing that hint at her occupation. Ste. Germaine was a native French girl. She was born Germaine Cousin at Pibrac near to Toulouse around 1597. She was the daughter of a farmer and was a weak and plain child. During her life she was made to endure great suffering from those around her and in particular from her step mother. From the age of nine she had to tend the flock of sheep. At home she was forced to sleep in a little nook beneath the stairs. Because of her extreme piety, the  locals scorned her but in reply she only offered kind words. Soon she was seen to perform two miracles. On one occasion she crossed a river without getting her dress wet and on the second when accused of stealing bread to feed the poor she was forced to open up her apron in public. To everyone's surprise it contained nothing more than spring flowers. She died at the age of 20 on 16th June 1601 and  was canonized in 1867. She is commemorated on June 15th.

St. Antoine l'Ermite

In this statue, St. Antoine is shown to be dressed in very fine robes. He has a chord tied around his waist similar to those worn by monks. He carries in his left hand a closed book (presumably the bible) while in his right he holds a staff at the end of which is a small bell. A gold cross hangs from a string of beads or a rosary around his waist.

St. Anthony was born at Coma, near Heracleopolis Magna in Fayum (Egypt), about the middle of the third century. He came from a well to do family and when they died he inherited their fortune. While in church one day he heard the words "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all thou hast", and believing that these words were meant for him alone he promptly disposed of all his worldly goods and took up a life of religion. Initially he devoted himself to asceticism and through viewing the lives of other ascetics gradually refined his philosophy. In pursuit of this lifestyle he took up residence in a tomb where it is said, he wrestled with demons and wild beasts almost to the point of death. After nearly 15 years in these circumstances and aged 35, he felt that the presence of his fellow man was too much to endure and he retreated to an abandoned fort near to Der el Memum where he isolated himself completely for 25 years. During that time he never set eyes on another human being. Food would be thrown over the walls to him. Over the years pilgrims came to visit this strange recluse and in time a small colony of followers built up nearby. Although he would not see his visitors he did eventually yield to their pleas for him to lead them and around the year 305 he gave up his retreat. His fame and following soon grew and a monastery sprang up nearby. As a result he is often said to have been the founder of Christian Monasticism. After spending some time teaching his new converts he eventually returned again to a life of seclusion and found a cave near the red sea in which he made his home. He was to spend the next 45 years there and died at the amazing age of 105. He is believed to have died in the year 356 or 357.

Interestingly there is another, somewhat less well known,  St. Anthony. This St. Anthony was born about 468 at Valeria in Lower Pannonia. At the age of eight years old, his father died and he was first entrusted to the care of St. Severinus and when he too died, Bishop Constantius of Lorsch in Bavaria took the boy in. During his stay in Bavaria, Anthony was to become a monk. In 488 he returned to Italy and joined the cleric Marius and his companions as a hermit at Lake Como. As his popularity and following grew his religious companions soon came to resent him and it became necessary for him to flee their anger.  He moved to Lerins in Gaul but only lived for a further two years. He is renowned for his many miracles and his great spirituality.

St Joseph

From his position immediately opposite the Virgin Mary one must assume that this Joseph is none other than her husband and father of Jesus. Indeed he is holding a young child, presumably Jesus. The plinth on which he stands simply refers to him as St. Joseph. There are however several St. Josephs and I cannot be absolutely sure that the statue refers to this particular figure. Historically very little is known of Joseph and in the Bible he is hardly given a mention. His following as a saint only really began to flourish around the 17th Century. He is feted on March 19th. Later pope Pious the 12th set his commemoration day a May 1st.

The Virgin Mary

In this statue we are led to believe that it represents none other than the Virgin Mary. Saunière has simply named the statue "Vierge Mère". She holds the infant Jesus in her right arm. As with all the other statues in the church Mary is resplendent in very fine robes.

Biblically speaking little is known of Mary and in the Gospels she is hardly referred to at all. She was born in Jerusalem about the year 19 B.C. and died there about the year 49 A.D.

She was the first to believe in Jesus and stood firmly by his side at the crucifixion, circa 30 A.D.

Following the death of Jesus,   Mary spent many years passing on her reminisces to the new and growing body of religious worshippers.  According to the best evidence amassed from the bible, she spent the remainder of her life in Jerusalem and actually died there. Popular belief is that following her death Jesus Christ came and took her body and soul into Heaven where he crowned her Queen of Heaven and Earth.