The early French settlers such as Samuel de Champlain were encouraged to come by Cardinal Richelieu chief minister for Louis XIII. Richelieu wanted a New France and appointed Samuel de Champlain, as Governor of New France. Richelieu employed Nicholas Pouisin the artist of the Shepherds of Arcadia. The painter who legends say that he painted a great secret in his painting which is connected to Rennes-le-Chateau.

As I have shown in previous articles a possible connection of the New Orleans Saint Louis Cathedral to the recent discovery of Ben Hammott’s tomb near Rennes-le-Chateau from the stain glass windows depicting Saint Louis IX life and Crusades. The Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans is located at the home of the Cajuns descendents of the Acadians. I have written about how the legends such as Rennes-le-Chateau were brought with the French settlers. Now I want to take you to Perryville Missouri home to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Shrine. Perryville is one of the cities French settled along the Mississippi near the settlement of Saint Genevieve. If you haven’t been to this small town then you have really missed a treasure. They have built Saint Mary of the Barrens Church which is beautiful. Church was log cabin built by the Vincentian Father Rosati in 1818 . It’s the National Shrine for all the Miraculous Medal churches in America. Its in this small town in Missouri . There is not only a Church but a grotto made from stone in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes.

There is a connection to the Miraculous Medal and Bernadette who saw the vision at Lourdes. Saint Bernadette was wearing a Miraculous Medal at the time of her first vision at Lourdes France February 11, 1858. François Bérenger Saunière the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau built a grotto in honor of Bernadette’s vision at Lourdes. It was said he roamed the hills of Rennes-le-Chateau to obtain the rocks for his grotto. In the tomb of Ben Hammott the embalmed corpse has a white cloth with a red cross on it over the body. It appears to be the symbol of the Crusader flags waved by soldiers of God.

The body had a unique position with its hands in prayer. I found a statue in Saint Louis of Mary Magdalene with her hands in a similar position.

The Panel next to the statue tells the oral tradition of Mary landing in France in a oar less boat. Notice the unique position of the statue’s hands folded in prayer. In the movie Bloodline by Bruce Burgess shows Ben Hammott’s video footage of the tomb found from solving clues left by Sauniere. The shroud is pulled away and the body is revealed. The camera shows the unique hand position in prayer similar to the hands in the Mary Magdalene statue in Saint Louis. What does it mean?

When I visited the Miraculous Medal Shrine at Perryville in the church there is the chapel of the Sacred Heart which there is a picture of the Crucifixion. John and Mary are present below Jesus who is crucified. Notice Mary who looks pregnant and her hands are folded in a similar fashion as the statue of Mary Magdalene.

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