Born 18 March 1920 in Paris, Pierre Athanase Marie Plantard de Saint-Clair, legitimate descendant of the Merovingian Dynasty, inherited the surname from a nickname of the illustrious ancestor Sigisbert IV Plant-Ard "Rejeton" Ardent Prince - Ermite Comte de Rhedae , which in 681 inherited from his uncle, the titles of Count of Rhedae and Razès Duke.
It was after Sigisbert IV, that has origins the name Plantard from the nickname "Plant-Ard", approached next to the name of the noble, which was precisely called Sigisbert IV "Plant-Ard" or "dit le Plantard".
The young and brilliant Pierre, at the age of fifteen years, gained the profound affection and regard of the famous Medium Geneviève Zaepffel, who initiated Plantard, in young age, to the esoteric studies and the occult sciences, opening the horizons that will lead him to become the future Grand Master of the Priory of Sion.
A little later, still a teenager, he will meet Georges Monti, former German Secret Agent, also called Comte Georges Monti or Comte Israël Monti, known in some circles with the initiatory name of Marcus Vella, who will take care of the young, becoming his mentor not only under the initiatory profile.
Georges Monti was a Freemason of the highest level, belonging to the Scottish Rite and a member of the Rose + Croix of Toulouse, later founder of the knight Order Alpha Galates, came out of secrecy only on 27 December 1937 together with the declaration of Pierre Plantard de Saint- Clair as the leader.
Plantard, even before the age of eighteen, already showed a keen interest in politics, showing strong monarchist and nationalist trends, combined with a strong character, prone to adventure and extremely resourceful, but at the same time strictly faithful to the intellectual honesty towards himself and the world and his characteristic purity of intent, which strongly pushed his will for looking to realize something that would allow him to bring his contribution, aimed at the good of society and the nation in which he lived.
Will be his penchant for adventure, combined with the irrepressible impulse to test as many times as possible himself, together with the inextinguishable interest in the fate of the nation, which will bring Pierre Plantard to become, for a while, even a Secret Agent at the service of the Government in 1947.
Still very young, in December 1940 Pierre Plantard became Leader of the association "Rénovation Nationale Française", by supporting the Vichy Government through activism and press activities, as the publication of "Vaincre", that was used to share esoteric, philosophical and ideological contents.
The Vichy Goverment was the government allied with the III Reich during World War II.
In 1942, he will publish the Vaincre magazine, which will see six outputs up to 1943 and will be the other magazine he published together with CIRCUIT, arrived later.
After 1943, he began his career as designer and a little later, on December 6, 1945, he married Anne-Léa Hisler.
In 1947, Pierre Plantard founded the '' Académie Latina ", an historical research association with which it will begin to develop in-depth investigations and valuable research material on the Merovingian Dynasty, which will then be used to complement and develop the historical knowledge inherited from the Priory of Sion.
Pierre Plantard is initiated into Freemasonry on July 8th 1951 in the Grand Orient of France, through the Lodge "L'Avenir du Chablais à Ambilly".
In 1958, Pierre Plantard, became established in its activities over the public sphere, and becomes one of the organizers of the Public Health Committees in France, taking shortly the secretariat.
On May 7, 1956, he founded the Prieuré de Sion – Chevalerie d'Institution et Regle Catholique & d'Union Indépendente Traditionaliste C.I.R.C.U.I.T. , As European section of the Priory and at the same time, the only visible and registered section according to law, with Jean Cocteau as Grand Master.
January 17, 1981, Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair, takes on the vertex of the original french branch of the Order, being elected Grand Master of the Priory of Sion in Blois, through an almost unanimous vote in his favor by 83 votes out of 92.
Plantard, will resign in 1984 because of health problems and will return to be the Grand Master in June of 1989 for almost a month, in order to bring changes to the Statute and other structural features of the Order and then leave great mastery to his son, Thomas Plantard de Saint-Clair, in August of the same year.
Athanase Marie Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair, this contemporary character of great intellectual and human depth, as well as very high initiate and Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, will die in 2000 in Colombes, February 3rd.
"The soul is made up of extremely thin atoms, which does not acquire form except when the mind vibrates with love; this is the indispensable factor between mind and matter. Matter is the gross vehicle that uses the soul to bring the mind to the highest levels. When the official science will have acquired this notion, material progress will then be the equivalent of the spiritual's and will then become useful and good, but until matter dominates the mind, the world will suffer, overwhelmed by the forces unleashed that will crush it."
Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair
